Requiem: The Final Duel
by DarkenedFantasy
Summary: Duel Monsters has begun losing popularity. In order to save their companies, Pegasus and Kaiba host a joint tournament. However, they will get much more than they bargained for when a new force of madness awakes within one of the competitors.
1. Prologue

Hello, readers. I have been trying for years to figure out a decent idea for a Yu-Gi-Oh!/Final Fantasy VII crossover, and I now believe I have arrived at the answer. Just so you know, this story takes place about five years after the Memory Arc within Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I will be using dub names because they are what I am the most comfortable with. My apologies to the manga and Japanese subtitle purists. Now, without further ado, let the card games begin.

._.

Prologue

Seto Kaiba was less than pleased. For one thing, he had just come out of a major KaibaCorp staff meeting, during which he had discovered that his funds were less than sufficient to take on the projects he wished to have done before the year was out, which included opening a new Kaibaland location, and releasing a prototype of a new Duel Disk system which would have even more realistic holographic projections than before. However, those projects were not going to get done, as it seemed his company was beginning to sink into the red, and the revenue from Kaibaland and Duel Disk sales was not enough to cover the difference. He had to raise money quickly, or risk KaibaCorp going under and getting bought out by Industrial Illusions.

As he shuddered at the thought of the CEO of Industrial Illusions running his company, the other reason he was annoyed came to the forefront of his mind. Just after having left that meeting, he had been accosted by Mokuba, who claimed there was a very important call waiting for him from one Maximillion Pegasus, CEO of Industrial Illusions. He had gritted his teeth at the notification, for Pegasus was hardly who he wanted to talk to. To make matters worse, the cultured CEO had asked him to meet him in person at his castle in Duelist Kingdom. The last time the CEO had requested a personal meeting, it had been a trap set up by Dartz, and even if it wasn't, Pegasus was usually the sort of person to deliver the kind of mystic mumbo-jumbo that Kaiba tried to actively avoid. Though he was more accepting of the spiritual side of things than he had been, the young CEO still had very little patience for it.

His hand tightened around the control for the Blue Eyes White Jet, and his eyes flicked to the global positioning system. He was about to reach the island, so he prepared for his descent and subsequent landing.

_Pegasus, I swear, if you've called me out here to try and sell a takeover bid or merger, so help me…_ he growled internally as he realized an alternative reason why the silver-haired man could have called him over.

He landed the jet in a clearing in the forest just outside of Pegasus's castle, and ascended the stairs to the front door, which swung open before him. Kaiba expected to be led inside by some of Pegasus's goons, but was instead greeted by the man himself.

"Welcome, Kaiba-boy, my old friend." Pegasus said in his usual lilting tone, smiling at the new arrival as if his coming was a complete surprise.

Kaiba was not impressed. "Spare me the pleasantries, Pegasus. You said this was important."

The silver-haired CEO raised an eyebrow at the man before him. Five years had yet to soften his demeanor towards him. Kaiba was dressed in a white suit, with a blue tie that accentuated his narrowed, icy eyes. His perfectly coiffed hair had started falling into his eyes. Perhaps Kaiba-boy was under a bit of stress?

"Well," Pegasus began, turning away from his guest, "if you must know why I called you here, then follow me. But you needn't be so rude about it."

Kaiba barely succeeded in holding back a frustrated groan. He didn't have the time for this nonsense, but as the major representative of his company, he was forced to hold a professional appearance and attitude. He followed the red-suited man as he led him up through many corridors and staircases, into his personal office. He tried to avoid the eyes of the massive painting of Cecelia, Pegasus's dead wife, as he took a seat on the opposite side of the desk from Pegasus himself. The room remained quite lavishly decorated, despite the fact that it was hardly ever used any more.

"Care for a drink?" Pegasus asked as he pulled out two glasses and some wine.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring as he shot back, "I don't drink."

"Are you sure you don't need one?" the other CEO asked mockingly. "I may not have both eyes at full capacity anymore…"

He pulled aside the curtain of hair covering the empty socket where the Millenium Eye had once rested, causing Kaiba to- barely- repress a shudder and a look of disgust. He let the hair drop again, and continued, "But any fool could see you're under some stress. I've heard you're dealing with some financial issues, Kaiba-boy."

Kaiba stood up violently, almost knocking his chair down. "Pegasus, I've told you about five million times already, I am not selling my company!"

"Did I ask you to share or sell KaibaCorp?" the older man asked with the air of one talking to an impetuous child. "I don't believe so. No, you see, so much as I don't care to admit it… My company is beginning to suffer as well…"

The younger CEO, now starting to calm down, sat slowly back down in his chair, and flatly asked, "Really?"

Pegasus nodded, sighing as he looked down at his glass of wine. "People just don't seem to want to play card games any more. I'm having difficulty coming up with new and better cards to entice the new generations, but it just doesn't seem to have the same magic it once had. It's been years since the last world-wide tournament, and great names like Yugi Moto, Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba… they're all slipping into nigh-invisibility. I suppose it's only your company that keeps your name from fading entirely…"

Kaiba grumbled. He resented the implication that his dueling skills would be forgotten, but Pegasus did have a point. The great tournaments like Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and the KC Grand Prix were now a thing of the past. Dueling was starting to lose momentum, and with it, their companies were losing value. Truth be told, he had only wanted to develop a new Duel Disk because he hoped it might rekindle the dueling phenomenon…

"What do you propose we do about it?" Kaiba asked, wondering precisely what Pegasus was after.

Pegasus smiled as he took a sip of his wine. Kaiba was now involved in his plan. He had caught him hook, line, and sinker. "Host another tournament. You and me. We find a new location, get duelists from all over the world, give the great gaming age of Duel Monsters one last hurrah, and see if that will generate a new interest."

Kaiba smirked sardonically. "As grand as that sentiment sounds, on the basis of logic, I have to decline. Hosting another tournament would require massive fundings from us both, and if your little scheme fails, then both of our companies go completely bankrupt."

"Ah yes." Pegasus conceded. "If I'm wrong, then yes, we do both go under. But- we're already close to going under as it is. Think of it this way: would you rather us put aside our differences and pride and work together to keep this little game of ours alive, spawning new memories even if we both go under as a result? Or would you rather allow yourself to go under anyway, and fade forever into the pages of obscurity, to be bought out by another, say, Paradius?"

That did it. The reminder of KaibaCorp's previous buyout was more than the brown-haired CEO could stand to hear. "Fine. You've got yourself a tournament. But why not just tell me this over the phone? Why drag me out here? You must have an ulterior motive."

Pegasus shrugged. "Well, it was amusing to see your frustrated expression. And I haven't seen you in forever. But you're right, Kaiba-boy. I do have another reason in bringing you to my humble abode."

Kaiba crossed his arms, and glared at the other CEO, waiting for him to get to the point.

Pegasus looked through his only eye and a few strands of silver, slightly over the top of is wine glass at the other man as he spoke. "Have you ever heard of a concept known as the Lifestream?"

._.

And there's the opening chapter. Join us for our next episode as we see Yugi and the others' reactions to a new tournament being held.


	2. Return of the King of Games

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy VII. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright owners.

._.

Chapter One- Return of the King of Games

Joey Wheeler was completely and totally breathless by the time he reached the Kame Game Shop, where Yugi was currently working. Having now graduated from high school, Yugi was working at the game shop full time, though the place hardly seemed to get that much business anymore. Joey was, shocker of all shockers, attending a local university. True, it was one of the lower-standard academic ones, but nonetheless, he was attending college. He'd just gotten the letter in the mail,and had seen an advertisement on his way over. Now, he burst through the doors, barely allowing Yugi to finish a customary greeting before asking, "Did you hear about the tournament?"

Yugi smiled good-naturedly, looking amusedly at his red-faced, panting best friend. "Hello, Joey. And yes, I did. I have a letter regarding it right next to me."

Joey smirked as Yugi pulled out the same letter he himself had received. "So, you're coming, right? I mean, it's not every day the two hugest companies in Duel Monsters host a big tournament."

The spiky-haired young man sighed, returning to cleaning the card case in front of him. He had finally hit his growth spurt the year after he had sent Atem into the afterlife, and his voice had changed, ironically enough, to almost the same depth that his had been, only perhaps slightly more high-pitched. He kept his eyes determinedly focused on the card case, unable to meet Joey's eyes as he replied, "No, Joey. I don't think I'll be coming to this tournament."

"Eh? But Yug', ya love duelin'! I thought this'd be right up your alley!" Joey responded, shocked at the declination.

"I do, but since Grandpa died, I've had to look after the shop, and try my best to keep it from going under. If I leave for a month, or however long this tournament will take, who's going to take care of the shop?"

"Dice Boy said he would. C'mon, Yug'! Dis could be your last shot! You know you're still using bits and pieces of your Gramps' old deck. He'd want you to compete."

Yugi finally looked Joey in the eyes, seeing the shocked (and perhaps hurt?) look within them. What would his grandfather want him to do? Would he want him to stay in the shop, or-? He knew the answer almost as soon as the question entered his mind. "…You're right. He'd want me to keep dueling. I've just been so worried about the shop going under that I've forgotten what's really important… The bonds I have with my friends, and my bond with the Heart of the Cards."

Yugi went up into his room, and found his deck of cards. He'd left them in plain display, if only for nostalgia's sake. He took his deck back downstairs, back into the room where Joey was. "All right. I'm ready."

Joey nodded, giving Yugi a thumbs up. "Now you're sounding more like your old self again. And think of it dis way- since the Pharaoh basically blasted darkness incarnate to kingdom come, ya won't hafta deal with some planet-destroyin' psycho like usual."

As his friend laughed, Yugi broke out into a cold sweat, and found himself praying that Joey's words were true, for if they weren't, this tournament would be made much, much harder.

._.

As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	3. Let the Tournament Begin!

Dislaimer: I claim no ownership over Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy VII. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

._.

Chapter Two- Let the Tournament Begin!

The old, abandoned warehouses at Domino Pier may not have been the best-looking place in the world to hold a dueling tournament, but they served the purpose Kaiba was going after. He and Pegasus had commissioned a full-scale clean-up and renovation of the warehouse interiors on the cheap so they could set up some of the grander things for the tournament. Within each warehouse, there was a veritable wonderland of Duel Monsters memorabilia on hand. Industrial Illusions was setting up massive card shops within the wareouses, graced by a touch of Pegasus's own eccentricity, which involved animatronic Duel Monsters and highly advanced holographic technology broadcasting messages from both himself and Kaiba. Kaiba, on the other hand, was trying to sell Duel Disks to all who would buy, and allowing the use of Pegasus's old dueling fields, well-set up dueling tables, and of course his own Duel Disks in all models for duels between anyone who was willing to show up. The reason why they had chosen to hold it in such a cheap area, now remade to be hardly recognizable, was because KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions were using the vast majority of their money in order to filibuster a well-known international network. That way, the entire world would be reminded of the Duel Monsters phenomenon, and exactly why it had been made so great.

Yugi was shocked upon seeing the pier after Kaiba and Pegasus had gotten their hands on the place. It was cleaner than ever, and was lit up by the varied lights and displays proclaiming the tournament taking place there. He inhaled a breath of sea wind as it tousled his multi-colored locks, and looked over at Joey. The latter looked slightly pained at being at this particular location, and it took Yugi only moments to remember why. The pier had been where, under Marik's control, he had almost killed his best friend.

"Are you gonna be okay, Joey?" Yugi wondered, knowing what he was recalling.

Joey choked back his shame, and nodded. "Yeah, Yug'. I'll be okay."

"Of course you will!" Tristan added, clapping Joey on the back. "You got an invite to Kaiba's tournament! The dude hates you, but you got in!"

Yugi nodded. "Right! And congrats, Tristan! I heard you got an invite in as well!"

Joey's brown eyes went extremely wide. "HUH? Tristan? Dueling in a big-time tournament? What did I miss?"

"Geez, dude, don't look so surprised. You were there at the Kanto Region Finals. Yugi was too. I guess Kaiba or Pegasus must've heard about it, and given me an invite." Tristan replied calmly.

"Big Brother!" a new voice cut in.

Joey turned towards the voice, not believing his ears, or his eyes. There before him, auburn hair waving in the wind, stood his little sister Serenity.

"Serenity?" Joey asked incredulously. "What are you doing 'ere? I thought dat you were staying with Mom in America."

Serenity smiled and nodded. "I was. But I was dueling in the United States National Finals. I made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated, and I guess Kaiba must have heard about it."

Joey smirked. "My little sis is all grown up! Way to go!"

Tristan smiled at Joey's choice of words. "Does that mean I get to go out with her now?"

"HELL NO!" Joey shouted back, punching Tristan in the face hard enough to send him flying to the ground. "And keep any thoughts like dat to yaself, ya jerk!"

"Oh my… I'd almost forgotten how those two tend to get along…" a softer voice with a familiar accent commented.

"Good to see you, Bakura!" Yugi greeted happily. Now that Bakura was free of the Millenium Ring, the friendship between them had grown much stronger.

"It's great to see you as well. I trust all of you have a personal invitation to the tournament as one of the sixteen finalists?" the white-haired young man asked.

"Yeah, but what're you doing here, Bakura? Don't tell me you've got an invite too…" Tristan trailed off.

Bakura nodded happily. "Yes I do. I was the United Kingdom Finals Champion, as well as a finalist in Battle City, so I was called here as well."

"Attention all duelists!" Kaiba's voice rang out over the pier, cutting through all conversation. "Report to the stage near the edge of the pier for Opening Ceremonies! Any duelist who does not show up at this mandatory meeting will be disqualified, and ejected from the pier until the tournament's conclusion."

The old gang joked and laughed together as they headed for the aforementioned stage. Joey was regaling the group with stories from his Battle City duels ad nauseum until Tristan reminded him that they had all been there when those duels were occurring, and reminders were not necessary. Yugi looked nervously around the pier for any familiar and suspicious faces. When the group finally arrived before the stage, Yugi managed to really get a good look at the crowd that had come. Although the game was losing popularity, Kaiba and Pegasus's tournament was drawing a great deal of attention, and hundreds of duelists from around the world had come to duel in the tournament, though there were only sixteen 'official' competitors, hand-selected by Kaiba and Pegasus. Yugi suddenly shuddered as he caught sight of Raphael's hulking figure in the crowd. Though he was no longer an enemy, his prescence made Yugi more than slightly nervous.

"Welcome, duelists, one and all, to the greatest dueling collaborative effort in the history of Duel Monsters! Welcome- to the KCI2 Tournament!" a random announcer figure shouted from the stage. A collective cheer went up from the crowd of gathered duelists. "Now, say hello to your tournament hosts, Maximilion Pegasus and Seto Kaiba!"

The crowd roared around Yugi and his friends as the two CEOs stepped onto the stage. Kaiba was the first to grab the microphone from the announcer. "All right, duelists. Prepare yourselves for the ultimate challenge in dueling! Here, all of you will face one another in matches, the best of which may well be televised. Here, Pegasus and I have gathered the top sixteen duelists from all around the globe to battle for the ultimate prize of becoming the eternal dueling master! The winner of this tournament will receive, aside from this title, a three million United States dollar cash prize, as well as a fully-stocked briefcase of Duel Monsters cards, and the chance for one final showdown with either Pegasus, myself, or the famed King of Games, Yugi Moto!"

Yugi shrank back down several inches. Kaiba had just placed a massive target on his back. Doubtless he'd be challenged to duels like crazy wherever he went in the tournament.

"But first-" Pegasus cut in, grabbing the microphone from Kaiba, "let's introduce the world to our sixteen official competitors."

Two large display screens flared into life, showing footage from Duelist Kingdom. It was the first duel from the finals. Yugi and Mai were facing off against one another. The footage then cut to Mai's showdown with Marik, then proceeding to show all her victories in minor televised tournaments.

"You probably remember this quick-witted, buxom duelist from her major appearance in the Duelist Kingdom tournament." Pegasus narrated as the footage continued onward. "Placing fourth in Duelist Kingdom, she proceeded to make the finals of the Battle City tournament, and has won many other tournaments since. Let's hear it for Mai Valentine!"

As Mai's picture was shown stationary on the screen, a massive cheer rose up from the crowd. Joey started wigging out, looking around everywhere for the blonde, breasty duelist.

Pegasus then proceeded to introduce the rest of the 'major' duelists in the competition, like Joey, Yugi, and Bakura. Tristan had a quick little segment on his victory in the Kanto region finals, as did Serenity for her respective tournament. Raphael, Valon, and Alister were introduced simultaneously as duelists of great skill, but with no information about their pasts given. Perhaps, given the circumstances, that was for the best. Rebecca Hawkins was once again introduced as the United States champion, having fought her way to the top quite brilliantly over who was the next duelist to be introduced.

"Now, not many of you from outside the states will recognize this next competitor, except from the last clip of Miss Hawkins' brilliant dueling." Pegasus began as the next competitor flashed up onscreen. "However, this young man managed to fight his way through the brutal semi-finals of the United States torunament after winning the Western Coast tournament last November. He placed second in the United States finals, having lost a very close match with Miss Rebecca Hawkins. Say hello to Sephiroth Crescent!"

At this, an image of a young man with long silver hair flashed up on screen. His eyes were a very bright green, and seemed almost like a cat's eyes. Yugi found himself shuddering as he looked upon this competitor. For whatever reason, he just had a bad feeling about this guy.

The next duelist on the screen was even more unrecognizable than the last. He clearly wasn't speaking English, or Japanese, and the duels shown required subtitles to be understood. The locale was unfamiliar at first, but as the camera panned around the duel, which was held outside, one could see a landmark like the Eiffel Tower in the background.

"This next duelist comes to us from the beautiful Parisian countryside, having dueled his way to the top through the French national finals in order to become the reigning French National Champion. Do not let your preconceived notions about his home nation allow you to underestimate him- or you will be defeated. Say hello to Vincent Valentine!" Pegasus announced as an image of the duelist appeared onscreen.

The man who now appeared onscreen had shoulder-length, raven black hair, which was tied back into a neat ponytail with a length of red cloth. His skin was quite pale, and he wore a navy, well-tailored suit. However, the thing that drew the most attention was his eyes- or, rather, the shade of his irises.

"Is it just me," Joey hissed in Yugi's ear, "or are his eyes really that creepy shade of red?"

Yugi shook his head. "It's not just you. I think his eyes really are that color."

Tristan shuddered. "Seriously creepy…"

Another unfamiliar face appeared onscreen, a much kinder, gentler face than those preceeding it. The woman's name was Aerith Gainsborough, and she had been the fourth place finisher in the national finals. She had very long, brown hair tied into a braid with a pink ribbon, pale skin, and emerald green eyes. She was followed by Yuffie Kisaragi, the last opponent Tristan had faced in the Kanto Region. Yuffie was a pixie-like girl with short, black hair and brown eyes. Following the self-proclaimed 'white rose ninja princess' was a man with very spiky blonde hair to rival Yugi's and deep blue eyes. He had finished second to Sephiroth in the United States Western Coast Finals, but his performance merited him a slot in this tournament. The final competitor had no dueling montage, which confused everyone present.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Kaiba began, a slight edge to his voice," our final competitor has received no dueling accolades, however, due to his ever so generous donations to this tournament, Pegasus decided to allow him entry as repayment. Our final competitor is the CEO of the ShinRa Electric Power Company, Rufus ShinRa."

As Rufus stepped up onstage, the crowd was set into an uproar. ShinRa Corporation was infamous for its environmentally disastrous energy removal processes. The man himself looked like a typical spoiled rich kid- perfectly coiffed blonde hair falling into blue eyes, dressed in a white suit like Kaiba's, only his was of a different design, and he wore a red ascot. Hardly the worst EPA offender that was still in business.

"Calm down." Rufus stated, loud enough to where Kaiba's microphone picked him up. "Be assured, I have not brought my company's pollution habits with me. I am here, just as all of you are, to duel. Not to pursue business matters. So, if you have any complaints, please, field them to the PR department of my company, not to me while I'm here."

Kaiba cleared his throat loudly, signalling to Rufus that he needed to back off. Rufus took the hint, and allowed the other young CEO to take the stage once more. "Now, duelists, let's go over a few basic rules of the tournament. I expect all rules in the official rules handbook to be followed. Cheating will not be allowed. Violators will be disqualified. The main tournament will be held in typical tournament fashion, advances to the next round determined by victory or loss in duels between the sixteen specially selected duelists. However, you will choose all your opponents for this first round. After this round, the eight remaining will advance to the next round, and opponents will be chosen for you. Now, as for the rest of you, you may challenge anyone present here. That includes the sixteen finalists. If you should win a duel with one of them, you may take that duelist's place. All duels with a top sixteen duelist will be televised, whether the opponent is one as well or not. Keep that in mind if you're here for the media attention. Now, enough talk from me. Let the tournament begin!"

Yugi gulped, preparing himself to be mobbed by the crowds of people begging for a duel. However, a rumble was already passing through the crowd that a duel challenge had just been declared against one of the top sixteen- the French national champion. By whom? Leon von Schroder, former KC Grand Prix winner whose slot had been taken by Rufus ShinRa. Or, at least, so the thoughtline went.

Yugi and his friends were able to part the crowds like the Red Sea as they ran for the duel to see what was going on. They managed to push aside the crowd closest to the duel just in time to see the match begin. One could almost feel the excitement pulsate through the crowd. The first duel of te tournament was now underway.

._.

There's the next update. Hope you enjoy!


	4. Fairy Tale Face Off! Leon vs Vincent

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy VII. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright holders.

._.

Chapter Three- Fairy Tale Face Off!

The first duel of the tournament was certainly kicking things off with a bang. Cameras were flashing everywhere, and a full television news crew was set up to record the duel in progress, broadcasting it live world-wide. Amidst the chaos, Yugi and his friends looked on as the first two opponents of the tournament activated their duel disks, and cried out, "Let's duel!"

"Why don't you have the first move, little one?" the raven-haired Frenchman invited. Joey was surprised at hearing the man's voice. He had expected a campy sort of tone, similar to Pegasus's, with a thick accent, but Vincent's voice was deep. Very deep, but soft in tone, and the accent was hardly even noticable.

Leon von Schroder shook his head, purple bangs falling in his face. He was dressed much like he had been those short years ago, in an outfit which looked very much like his school's uniform, though it was of a slightly different design. "No thanks. You're the official competitor. You go first."

Vincent raised an eyebrow, and drew his first cards of the duel.

_Leon may not realize it, but in that gesture of politeness, he just gave Vincent a massive tip-off about the way his deck works…_ Yugi thought to himself. _Given that it functions on counter-attacks, it's advantageous for him to go second._

"I'll summon one monster, face down, in defense mode. Then, I'll place this card face down. With that, I'll end my turn." Vincent declared. "Your move, _mon adverser_."

"The heck does that mean?" Joey whispered to his friends.

"Presumably, 'my opponent'." Bakura answered calmly. "Or, 'my adversary'. Either-or."

"Okay then!" Leon shouted, drawing his card. "My turn! I summon Forest Wolf in attack mode!"

The hologram of a wolf in a pink apron and glasses appeared on the field. ( **ATK 1800**)

"My, what big teeth he has." Vincent deadpanned.

Leon smirked. "All the better to devour your monster with, my friend. Now, go! Detroy his face-down monster!"

The wolf lauched itself for the card, and consumed whole the face-down Mystic Tomato on Vincent's side of the field, swelling its stomach to massive size.

"I must thank you for that." Vincent calmly noted. "You have given me the opportunity to summon one of my Dark attribute monsters with 1500 attack points or less to my side of the field. Thus, I'll summon Witch of the Black Forest to my side of the field in defense mode."

Said witch appeared with her arms folded over her chest. (**DEF 1200**)

"Right." Leon agreed. "Well, that's all the damage I can do for this round. How about you give it another go?"

"Very well. First off, I'll activate my face-down card, Card Destruction. This forces us both to discard our entire hand to the Graveyard, and draw a replacement hand." The raven-haired duelist declared.

_Huh. That's odd. Why would he want to throw out his current hand? Is he searching for a card?_ Yugi wondered as he watched.

"Next," the Frenchman continued, "I activate Monster Reborn, allowing me to summon back to the field one of the monsters I just discarded, Marie the Fallen One."

As the fallen angel appeared on the field, Leon's expression grew marred with confusion. "Why would you do that? That particular card is much more useful in the Graveyard than on the field."

Vincent smirked, but did not answer the boy's question. "Next, I sacrifice my Witch of the Black Forest in order to summon one of my favorite creatures in my deck. This action also allows me to choose one monster of mine with 1500 attack points or less, and add it to my hand. You are, I suppose, familiar with the legends of the vampires? Then, let us welcome to the field my Vampire Lord. Come, my creature of darkness. Rise from your coffin, and serve me."

As the dramatic narration was said, a coffin appeared on the field, and Vincent's Vampire Lord emerged from it. (**ATK 2000**)

"Now, go forth, my Vampire Lord, and destroy his Forest Wolf!"

Vampire Lord slashed through the cross-dressing wolf with razor sharp claws, destroying it thoroughly.

**Leon LP: 3800**

"Now that your lupine transvestite is off the field, I regain my Mystic Tomato, giving me enough power to launch an all-out assault. Also, whenever my Vampire Lord destroys one of your monsters, he can drain away one card from your deck of the type of my choosing. For now I believe my creature of the night is craving the mystic arts. Choose one magic card of yours to lose." Vincent explained, gesturing towards his diminuitive opponent.

"Fine." Leon replied, shifting through his cards. He finally decided on Gold Moon Coin, and it was sent to the graveyard.

"You should know what is coming next. Mystic Tomato, Marie the Fallen One, attack his life points directly!"

**Leon LP: 700**

"I believe you have suffered enough, child. I end my turn." Vincent added, smiling somewhat.

"This could prove problematic…" Bakura noted.

"Yeah. Leon's getting his butt kicked out there." Tristan continued the train of thought.

"Dis guy's actually really good… I'm surprised…" Joey commented. "I mean, I didn't know what to expect, but dang, to have a kid beat like that in two of his turns? Pretty impressive."

"Don't count this as over yet, Joey." Yugi warned. "You yourself ought to know about pulling comebacks. Leon might be able to turn this one around."

"My move now! Being the French National Champion, I'm sure you know all about the story behind my next card. A beautiful girl forced to work as a scullery maid for her overbearing, evil stepmother and stepsisters, until one night, with a little help from her fairy godmother, she's able to finally go to the ball! Yep, you guessed it. It's Cinderella!"

The young princess appeared on the field in her ball gown, smiling placidly at the monsters opposite her. (**ATK 300**)

"But she needs a way to get to the ball, so say hello to Pumpkin Carriage! And what princess would be complete without her fabulous footwear?"

The Pumpkin Carriage appeared beside the princess, and she reacted in surprise as a pair of Glass Slippers graced her feet.

"Now, Cinderella, why don't you kick up your heels, and really get this party started?"

Cinderella smiled, and did a quick little turn, unsheathing her feet from their glass containers. Vincent held up his arms in self-defense, and cringed as the slippers exploded into glass shards on contact with him.

**Vincent LP: 3700**

"But stick around- this story has a twist ending!" Leon shouted excitedly.

Vincent cocked an ebony eyebrow as glass slippers adorned the feet of Marie the Fallen One. "Fancy footwear, but I don't see how- _quoi__?_"

The Frenchman's reaction could easily be explained by the fact that his monster had just lost one thousand attack points. (**ATK 700**)

The younger duelist smirked. "See, when Cinderella attacks, she can give another monster her glass slippers, reducing that monster's attack points by 1000. And once your Marie the Fallen One is destroyed, she gets those 1000 points back."

The older man appeared surprised. "Well played, _mon adverser_."

"Thanks. Next, I'll play my Gingerbread House card! You'll find out what it does next turn. And I'll lay this face down for later. Your move."

"Very well." Vincent replied, drawing his card.

"Wait!" Leon halted. "Before you move any further, remember my Gingerbread House card? Well, at the start of your turn, I get to pick one monster on your side of the field, and increase it's attack by 600 points! But remember what your mother always says about filling up on sweets? Well, if the monster's attack gets increased to above 2500 points, that monster gets destroyed, and I get 500 of my Life Points back."

The Frenchman's crimson eyes widened. The child's next move was all too clear. Sure enough, Leon chose to destroy Vincent's Vampire Lord, wiping out the strongest attacker on the field.

**Leon LP: 1200**

Vincent's expression was not one of distress, but one of determination. "You may have wiped out my creature of darkness, but I have other moves I can make. Like destroying your Cinderella card. Go, Mystic Tomato! Consume the little ash princess!"

The child smirked. "Sorry, but you're gonna have to wait until next turn for that. Reveal trap! Negate Attack! I should hope you know what this card does."

Vincent grumbled. "I lay one card face down, and end my turn."

Leon smiled. "Then it's my go! First off, I'll summon my Glife the Phantom Bird in attack mode!"

The giant, red-plumed bird appeared on Leon's side of the field, cawing at Vincent. (**ATK 1500**)

"When my monster is summoned, I can destroy one magic or trap card on your side of the field. Go, Glife! Destroy his face down card!"

The raven haired duelist flinched as his card was destroyed, suggesting to Yugi and all the spectators that it had been a powerful card indeed.

"Next, I'll activate my Spinning Wheel Spindle magic card! This allows me to put your oversized evil fruit to sleep for the next three turns!"

Everyone present could see Vincent gritting his teeth as the spindle pierced is creature. He was losing defenses, fast.

"Now, Glife, attack Marie the Fallen One!" Leon commanded.

The dark-skinned fallen angel shrieked in pain as Glife swept across her with its claws.

**Vincent LP: 2900**

"And since your Marie the Fallen One is now destroyed, the glass slippers she was sporting go back to my Cinderella, giving her a 1000 attack point boost! (**ATK 1300**) Now, Cinderella, let's kick this ballroom dance up a notch!"

Once again, the Frenchman held up an arm to defend against the shattering glass slippers which flew at him.

**Vincent LP: 1600**

However, mere moments later, Vincent recovered from the attack, and smirked. "You know your legends quite well. But you seem to have forgotten one thing about vampires- they are immortal. Once your turn is over, my Vampire Lord will return once more to the field."

Instead of looking afraid, however, Leon smirked. "Yes, but once that does happen, my Gingerbread House will just destroy it again. However, you won't even get that opportunity with my last card for the turn. Activate magic card! Curse of Thorns! I'm sure you remember the tale of Sleeping Beauty? Trapped for one hundred years in a castle surrounded by thorns, she slept, waiting for true loves first kiss. My Curse of Thorns magic card makes sure deceased monsters stay that way by preventing them from activating their effects from the graveyard. So, sorry Vincent, but it looks like your vampire just got staked!"

Vincent's crimson eyes went wide as the thorns from his opponent's magic card reached into his graveyard, and pulled out his precious Vampire Lord, trapping it in a veritable cage of thorns, holding it useless.

"It's your move now. Let's see you duel your way out of this one- if you can." Leon challenged.

"All right. My move! Since I have no monsters on my side of the field this Standby Phase, it looks like your Gingerbread House is of no use to you." Vincent noted, a smug smirk beginning to appear on his face. Yugi knew that expression all too well. It had been a favorite of Atem's right before he made a game-ending maneuver. "And now, allow me to show the true star monster of my deck. First, I must remove one Light and one Dark monster in my graveyard from play. For this purpose, I sacrifice my Marie the Fallen One and my Goddess With the Third Eye in order to summon my most powerful beast, my Chaos Emperor Dragon- Envoy of the End!"

Yugi and his friends gasped, along with the spectators, as Vincent's powerful dragon descended upon the field, causing Leon's eyes to widen in fear. (**ATK 3000**)

"Yug'!" Joey hissed. "Ain't that a monster Kaiba used at some point? Against that Zigfried guy?"

Yugi nodded. "Looks like it. And if it is the same monster, then Leon's done for."

"Indeed." Bakura added. "I've seen that monster before as well, and it's effect is utterly devastating."

"What does it do?" Serenity wondered. She had never seen this particular card in action before.

Vincent proceeded to answer that question before Joey could say anything. "Next, I sacrifice 1000 life points from my 1800 in order to activate my beast's special ability! By giving up 1000 life points, I can destroy every card in our hands and on our fields, and deal to you and you alone 300 points of damage per card destroyed!"

"300 points per card?" Serenity cried out. "That's over 3000 damage!"

**Vincent LP: 800**

"Now go, my beast! Finish this duel, and wipe out the rest of my opponent's life points!" Vincent commanded his creature.

Leon winced as the dragon glowed, shattering all the cards in both duelists' hands. Finally, all the energy it was gathering exploded outward, blinding everyone present, and shattering the monsters on both sides of the field. Leon collapsed to the ground as the light faded, realizing that his life points were very obviously zero.

"And this duel is over!" one of the reporters on scene announced in the crowd's roar. "Vincent Valentine, the French national champion, has just defeated former KC Grand Prix champion Leon von Schroeder! What an amazing match!"

Yugi and his friends watched as Vincent walked over to his younger opponent, and held out a hand to help him stand.

"That was an excellent duel. You are indeed quite skilled." The raven-haired duelist commented in his low voice.

"Well," Leon said as he got to his feet, "if I had to lose to anyone, I'm glad it was to you. I can see why you were chosen to compete here."

The two duelists shook hands, and Yugi smiled. _This_ is what dueling was all about. Honor, respect, and trust in the heart of the cards. However, he was surprised when, a moment later, Vincent came over to him.

"I'll be interested in dueling against you at some point." Vincent stated calmly. "You're the best competitor here, and I wonder how my own deck would fare against yours."

"Well, we could duel right now if you want…" Yugi stated hesitantly.

"Fuhgedaboutit, Yug'! Ya got plenty a time ta duel later. Right now, I wanna try and find Mai. It's been forever since I've seen her around." Joey cut in.

Vincent's eyes went wide. "Mai? As in, Mai Valentine? Do you know where I can find her?"

Joey shrugged. "I ain't got a clue. She goes where she wants in these things. But hey, you can hang with us 'til we find her!"

The Frenchman shook his head. "_Non, merci_. I believe I can find her on my own. Good day to you, and I hope to see you in the finals."

Yugi was confused, and a bit disturbed by Vincent's actions just then, but decided to shrug it off. That duel had inspired him to find his own opponent. He was ready now for the challenges the tournament would bring.

._.

"You may have bought your way into this tournament with your donations, Rufus," Kaiba spat contemptuously, "but you will never obtain my respect."

Rufus smirked lightly at the brown-haired CEO. "Did I ever ask for your approval?"

"No." Pegasus answered. "But you haven't explained why ShinRa, which has never taken any interest in the gaming industry until now, has sent their CEO to this last ditch attempt to save Duel Monsters and two gaming companies."

Rufus brushed a few blonde strands out of his blue eyes. "I have my little hobbies in my spare time. And it's not so much the game as it is some of your competitors. Gainsborough, Crescent, and Valentine each have gifts of some interest to my company and it's goals to provide the world with energy."

"What kind of gifts?" Kaiba asked skeptically.

Rufus scanned the room in which he sat. Pegasus certainly had expensive taste, for a man whose company was going out of business. The largest warehouse on the pier had been turned into the tournament's inner sanctum, and Pegasus had done the decorating himself with luxurious furniture and whatnot.

"Answer the question." Kaiba commanded curtly, sapphire eyes narrowed.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Special talents which you would hold no belief in, being no true follower of anything supernatural."

Pegasus's eyes narrowed. "These 'talents' wouldn't have anything to do with the Lifestream, would they?"

Rufus, still with the smug smirk on his face, replied, "They may. But exactly what my plans are isn't your business. All that matters is that I'm a contestant in your tournament, just like all the others. Now, I must be off. I need to find my first opponent."

And with that, the president of ShinRa Corporation exited the warehouse, feeling the distrusting eyes of Kaiba and Pegasus locked on his receding figure.

._.

And that's it for this chapter! Join us next time as Yugi and Joey face their first opponents of the tournament in a tag team for the ages.


	5. Some Memories Never Die Part One

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright owners.

._.

Chapter Four- Some Memories Never Die

Yugi and his friends were walking along the pier, drinking in the sights and sounds of the tournament, all the while keeping their eyes peeled for a certain blonde-haired, well-endowed duelist. Joey, however, was beginning to complain of hunger and fatigue, so they started looking for a place to eat. Luckily, one of the warehouses was doubling as a food court, so the gang ran inside to see what they could find to eat.

"All you can eat pizza buffet?" Tristan exclaimed as his eyes flew to the first food stand inside the doorway. "Awesome! You know, every time I said Kaiba and Pegasus were jerks, I take that back! This is awesome!"

"Listen at you, always thinking with your sto- Holy mustard, is that a real sausage dog stand? This tournament is sweet!" Joey shouted, his eyes drawn to a different small food stand.

Yugi sighed, and rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the antics of two of his closest friends. Honestly, the both of them were being so childish. But, nonetheless, they were his best friends, and he'd stick by them through thick and thin.

Joey started charging towards the hot dog stand, and found his efforts blocked by another person, whom he slammed into, knocking their cheeseburger and fries plate to the floor.

"Oy, mate, watch where you're going!" the person intoned with a very thick- and very distinctive- Australian accent. "You owe me a new lunch jus' for that."

"Sorry. Wasn't payin' attention and-" Joey began, jolting with surprise when he realized exactly who it was he had bumped into. There was only one guy he knew who dressed like a biker and had pointy brown hair like that. And there was only one guy he knew with that accent, come to think of it. "Hey. Don't I know you? You're Valon, right?"

Valon looked closer at the moron who'd cost him his lunch, and recognized him as none other than the man whose soul he'd sought a few years back. "Wheeler? God, never thought I'd 'ave to see _you_ again, but it's good to see you anyways. And listen, I'm sorry about that nasty business a whoile back. It's just- ya know- Orichalcos messes with your 'ead."

Joey shrugged. "Eh, dat's the past. Dis is now. Hey guys! Guess who I just ran into!"

Yugi followed the sound of Joey's voice to find the ever so familiar figure of Valon standing beside him. Though he knew Valon was no longer an enemy, he still felt the slightest chill at seeing Joey interact with him like an old friend instead of like a foe.

"Valon, Alister and I have been waiting at the table for ages. What's taking you so- Oh, it's you guys." a new voice cut in.

Yugi felt a sudden shiver run through his body as his head inclined towards the familiar hulking figure of Rafael. The last time he had faced off against this guy, he'd been forced to watch the pharaoh be consumed by his lust for power, and had his soul sealed away to preserve the world.

"Wheeler just bumped into me and lost me me lunch!" Valon interjected, looking extremely offended. "And oI say he owes me a new meal."

"Aw yeah?" Joey challenged. "Well, dat may be so, but I say we duel for it! Whoever loses buys the other lunch!"

"You're on, Wheeler!" Valon challenged, activating his duel disk.

"Wait a minute, Valon, you're not honestly taking him up on this. Of all the stupid motivations to duel somebody, really-" Rafael stated, his voice completely deadpan.

"Whassa matter?" Joey asked, activating his own duel disk. "Scared I'd beat him? I'll take on the both of youse right here right now!"

"Annoying little punk." Rafael growled, activating his own duel disk.

"You're not going in this alone, Joey." Yugi interrupted, joining the fray by activating his own duel disk. "If we're taking them on, we're taking them on together."

All spectators were now thoroughly confused. A simple matter of buying a lunch had suddenly morphed into a tag team duel between four of the sixteen official competitors of the tournament. It was a weird moment, but the crowd was starting to enjoy it. After all, who didn't love lunch and a free show?

"Let's duel!" all four duelists shouted, and the match was on.

._.

"Big Brother!" Mokuba Kaiba called, bringing Seto's attention to the computer screen which Mokuba sat in front of, typing furiously.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked sharply, walking over to stand behind his younger brother.

"It looks like the first duel between the real tournament participants has just started. Yugi and Joey are facing off against Valon and Rafael." Mokuba stated.

"Wheeler I couldn't care less about, but keep me posted on how Yugi's doing." Kaiba replied, turning back towards Pegasus. "I want to know how he fares against those punks from Doma."

"Oh, those three?" Pegasus asked lightly. "Well, two of them, anyway. It'll be interesting to see how well they fare without the Seal of Orichalcos which they had been using as a crutch until now…"

Kaiba's eye twitched. "I wouldn't be so sure they were using it as a crutch. Apparently, Yugi lost to Rafael after playing the Seal of Orichalcos himself. His current record against Rafael is one win and one loss, so it'll be a bit more of a toss-up than I would like."

Pegasus arched an eyebrow. "Than you would like? You still want to face off against Yugi-boy again, never mind the countless times he's trounced you before a massive audience? And Kaiba-boy, we've been over this, that was not Yugi-boy who lost to Rafael, that was the spirit of the pha-"

"Cut the 'ancient Egyptian pharoah spirit' crap. I know what I saw in that tomb, but I'm still not buying it." Kaiba interrupted. "And, by the way, why did you invite those Doma freaks here anyway? Given they allegedly 'stole your soul' away as well, and put the both of us almost through a corporate takeover."

Pegasus's eye widened. "Why, Kaiba-boy, I should think that would be obvious! It's because they have something to do with the Lifestream."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "How does a ten thousand year old piece of rock and three of the freaks that used it have anything at all to do with that 'mystical life force of the planet', which I'm still convinced doesn't exist?"

Pegasus shrugged. "I thought you knew this story already, but I suppose I forgot to clue you in. It all started when Professor Hawkins contacted me with a new discovery he had made-"

._.

"Looks like I'm startin' dis show." Joey stated, drawing his first six cards from his deck.

_Awesome!_ he thought to himself as he scanned over his first hand. _I got Flame Swordsman in my first hand! Lemme see… Rocket Warrior, Meteor of Destruction… man, this hand is AWESOME! Lemme see what'd be best to lay down first…_

"All right, den. First things first, I'm playin' Rocket Warrior, in attack mode!" Joey called, gesturing as the mechanical creature appeared before him. (**ATK 1500**) "And now I'll throw a little somethin' face down, for later. Your move, musclehead!"

Rafael smirked as he drew his hand. "All right. My move! First up, I'll play a magic card known as Guardian Treasure. In case you've forgotten, this card lets me draw two cards this turn, and every turn from now on, as long as I discard my entire hand first."

Yugi shuddered inwardly as Rafael echoed the first move from the last time they had faced off. _I know he's not searching for the Seal of Orichalcos, but this dejavu is really starting to get to me…_

Rafael's brow furrowed as he looked at his new hand. "Doesn't look like I can do anything else this turn. Your move, Yugi."

Yugi sighed, fighting off the bad memories that were starting to creep into his mind, and drew his first card. His eyes narrowed a bit at his hand. _All right… I don't have all that much I can work with in this first hand… but every card has its value… and I think this one can stall for long enough that I can find another._

"I summon a monster face down in defense mode. Looks like it's your move, Valon!" Yugi called, glancing over at his other opponent.

"All right then, mates, it's moi move." Valon stated, drawing his first hand. "oI play the magic card Cost Down, which reduces the level of all monsters in moi hand by two. And next, I'll play a little Field Spell known as Gaia Power. This card'll increase the attack of all Earth monsters on the field by 500 attack points, whoile decreasing their defense by 400. And now I'll summon Double Cloth Armor, in attack mode!

The red suit of armor appeared on the field with a slight breeze blowing hollowly through it. (**ATK 500**)

Valon sighed. "oI almost miss getting that equipped to me, but ah well. oI'll move on. Your move, Wheeler!"

"All right, Valon, you asked for it!" Joey called out, drawing his next card. "Your monster may have a power up, but it's not strong enough to stop my Rocket Warrior! Go! Finish off his Double Cloth Armor!"

Valon smirked. "oI think you're forgetting something, Wheeler. Moi Double Cloth Armor lets me destroy any monster that attacks it, and take 'alf it's attack points from your Loife Points. And remember, my Gaia Power increasing the attack of all Earth monsters on the field by 500. Sorry mate. Looks like you're gonna be taking damage this turn instead."

Joey's eyes widened as both the armor and the rocket-armored warrior collided and exploded into bits, and his Life Points paid the price.

**Joey LP: 3000**

Joey sighed. "Not much else I can do dis turn. I end my turn."

"Fine then. My move!" Rafael replied, drawing his next two cards. "All right. Now it looks like I can really accomplish something. First up, I'll summon my Guardian Elma, in attack mode! And then I'll equip her with Butterfly Dagger-Elma! This card increases my monster's attack points by 300, and when it's sent to the graveyard, I get it right back to my hand."

The red-haired, sylph like guardian in butterly-esque armor appeared before him, holding her eponymous dagger in her right hand. (**ATK 1600**)

Rafael cast a glance over at Joey. _I don't know Wheeler as well as Valon does, but I know he can't be defenseless. That face down card doesn't look so good, and I need to keep my monsters out of the graveyard as much as I possibly can… Yugi's face down monster doesn't look so good either, but I don't have that much of a choice…_

"Guardian Elma! Attack Yugi's face down monster, now!" the muscle-bound man called to his faithful creature, who did as her master commanded and charged for Yugi's face-down monster- only to have her useful dagger get caught in a smiling pile of marshmallow-y goo. "_What_?"

Yugi smiled. "You always underestimate the little monsters, Rafael. This is my Marshmallon. He might not look like much, but he's indestructible by monster attack. Not only that, but by flipping him to face-up defense mode, you lose 1000 Life Points."

Rafael growled as his counter ticked downwards.

**Rafael LP: 3000**

Rafael grumbled. "Fine then. I have one last move before my turn is done- and that is activating Purity of the Cemetery! This card saps 100 Life Points from each of you for every monster you have in the graveyard. And as long as my Graveyard has no monsters, then it stays in play. That's all for now. It's your move, Yugi."

Yugi gritted his teeth. He didn't yet have any monsters in his graveyard- but Joey did. This could get ugly very quickly. He drew his next card, and called out, "I summon Silent Magician Lvl 0 in attack mode!"

A very chibi-like magician appeared on the field before Yugi, looking innocently but determinedly out at the monsters facing it. (**ATK 1000**)

"That's all for this turn. Your turn, Valon!"

"All roight then!" the brown-haired opponent shouted, drawing his next card.

"But wait just a minute!" Yugi cut in. "Once you draw a card, my Silent Magician grows a level for every card you draw. And with each level he gains, he also gains five hundred attack points!"

The young magician grew slightly taller, and his expression became a bit more serious. (**ATK 1500**)

"All roight. So your monster got a little bit tougher. But it'll take more than that to win this duel. oI summon Psychic Armor Head in attack mode, and then activate a little something known as Armored Gravitation. This lets me summon four of me armor monsters that are level four or lower from me deck to the field! So say 'ello to Black Hole Shield, Burning Knuckle, Buster Pyle, and Active Guard!"

All the pieces of armor appeared on the field as their names were called out, and their attack points were boosted by the appropriate number. (**ATK 500**)

"But wait! There's more! Moi Burning Knuckle card also gets 200 extra points for all armor monsters on the field, including itself, for an extra 1000 attack points!"

The aforementioned mechanical gauntlet glowed slightly brighter. (**ATK 1500**)

_All roight… Yugi's monster's as strong as moine at the moment. If oI attacked 'im, it'd destroy us both, and be wasting me only attack this turn. So that leaves Wheeler…_

"Go, Burning Knuckle! Punch out Wheeler's Life Points!" Valon called, and the armored fist moved forward to do so, only to find its efforts halted by a fluffy blue sheep.

Joey laughed aloud at this. "Way to go, Valon. You just wasted one of your attacks on a worthless Scapegoat card. Nice one."

Valon grumbled. "You're stalling."

"And it's working. And now you can't do anything else." Joey taunted.

"Then it's back to you, Wheeler." the biker conceded, allowing Joey to draw his next card. "Make your move."

"Don't mind if I do!" Joey smirked, drawing his next card.

"Don't forget about my Purity of the Cemetery card!" Rafael interrupted. "You lose 100 Life Points for your Rocket Warrior.

**Joey LP: 2900**

"Yeah yeah yeah. But speaking of, Raf? I don't think you're gonna like dis next card, 'cuz it could send your Guardian to the graveyard! I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode! And thanks to Valon's Gaia Power, it gets another 500 attack points!"

The iron-armored warrior appeared in front of Joey, and brandished its sword forward as it glowed with power. (**ATK 2300**)

_Okay, I could use dis to take out one of Valon's monsters, but they all protect each other, and I can't risk my offense right now… Plus, da sooner dat Purity of the Cemetery is off da field, da better…_ Joey though, looking over his options. "Go, Gearfried the Iron Knight! Destroy his Guardian Elma!"

The Guardian reacted in surprise as Gearfried slashed through her with his weapon, damaging her owner, but just before she shattered, her master activated the one thing which could save her.

"I activate the magic card Self Tribute! This lets me give up 1000 Life Points to keep my monster from being destroyed." Rafael stated, as a pool of light moved from his core to his monster, keeping her from falling to bits and repelling the knight assaulting her.

"It doesn't stop da battle damage I inflict on you, ya know!" Joey stated. _Yeesh. Yug' was right when he said dis guy would do anythin' for his monsters. Dat's some real devotion dere…_

"I know." Rafael conceded. "But at least it'll save my monster."

**Rafael LP: 1300**

Joey grumbled. "Okay. I place one card face-down, and end my turn."

"Thought so." Rafael shot back. "It's my go now."

"Remember," Yugi interrupted, "My Silent Magician gains two more levels and 1000 more attack points thanks to the two new cards you've drawn!"

The Magician grew much taller, and appeared to be in late adolescence, and far more serious than before. (**ATK 2500**)

"Big deal. I never said I would go after your monster. But I'll equip my Guardian Elma with Twin Swords of Flashing Light- Tryce. So long as her attack gets decreased by 500, she can attack twice in one turn."

Elma stowed her dagger in her belt, and picked up the two swords in the ground before her. (**ATK 1100**)

"Now, Guardian Elma! Destroy two of Wheeler's Scapegoats!"

Joey leapt back with a fearful cry as the brightly-polished blades easily sliced two of his Scapegoats in half.

Rafael placed the last card in his hand face-down. "I'll lay this on the field for a later time. Your move, Yugi."

Yugi gulped as he looked at the field. _Okay… I've seen better set-ups, but this isn't the worst jam to be in. I still have all my Life Points. Rafael's lost most of his… But Joey's lost more than I'd be comfortable with him losing. My monster is stronger than Rafael's Guardian Elma, but if I know Rafael, he's already got something in his graveyard or face-down on the field to protect her. Valon's armor monsters are incredibly inter-dependent from what Joey's told me, but even if I can't destroy one completely, I can put a huge dent in his Life Points…_

"My move! First up, I'll summon my Silent Swordsman Lvl 0, in attack mode!" Yugi invoked, watching the diminuitive warrior appear before him (**ATK 1000**). "And next, I'll send my Silent Magician Lvl 3 to attack your Burning Knuckle!"

"Not so fast! oI'll tribute moi Black Hole Shield to stop me from taking any Battle Damage this turn! Moi Burning Knucle may still be destroyed, but he's leaving a nasty little surprise, Yugi! Ya see, when Burning Knuckle battles with another monster and it gets destroyed, you lose the attack it had when it was destroyed. So there goes your 1500 attack points you gained. Looks loike your back to square one, Yugi!" Valon cut in.

Yugi groaned in frustration as his Silent Magician reverted back into its child-form. (**ATK 1000**). "You may have stopped that monster, but I can still take out your Psychic Armor Head with my Silent Swordsman!"

The armored visor shattered as the tiny swordsman ran his blade through it, and Valon cringed as it flew to a million pieces.

**Valon LP: 3500**

"That's all for now. Let's see what you can do." Yugi challenged.

"Foine by me!" Valon shot back, drawing his next card. _Awesome! Let's see how Wheeler loikes this next move…_ "Before you interrupt again, oI know your Silent Magician levels up a bit again, Yugi. Not that it makes much of a difference."

Silent Magician grew slightly older again. (**ATK 1500**)

"Also, oI get to bring back moi Psychic Armor Head from the graveyard this turn." Valon declared, bringing the monster back from its grave. "And now, 'ere's a little something oI like to call the old armor switcheroo. Ya see, moi Active Guard gains 500 defense points for every one of me monsters. And it 'ad 2500 to start with. Normally, this wouldn't even be an issue, but now oI've got a little something to make it more interesting. oI activate the magic of Sword and Shield! This lets me switch the attack and defense of all monsters on the field!"

Guardian Elma's grip on the blades she held slackened a bit. (**ATK 1000**) Gearfried's glow reduced slightly. (**ATK 2100**) Yugi's Silent Magician and Swordsman retained fairly childlike appearances. (**ATK 1000**) And Valon's Active Guard began to shine a vibrant blue as all the synergy between it and its armored brothers overwhelmed it. With the power boost it gained from Gaia Power, it was equally as powerful as Kaiba's ultimate monster. (**ATK 4500**)

Joey gasped, and gulped. Loudly. "Tell me dat attack meter's broke…"

Valon smirked. "And that's not the worst of it. oI also activate Rush Recklessly, which gives moi Advance Guard another 700 attack points, bringing it up to 5200. More than enough to woipe out your Loife Points and win me the duel. So, since you're paying for lunch, oI think oI'll call up Mai and make a date of it. You're through! Go, Active Guard! Finish off Wheeler's Gearfried the Iron Knight and end this duel!"

Yugi's eyes widened. _If that attack hits, then he loses his place in the finals!_

All eyes in the lunch area were drawn to Joseph Wheeler, who merely stood there as the glowing piece of mechanical armor came flying towards him for a body tackle that would cost him the duel.

._.

And that's all for now, folks! Join us next time for the next part of this thrilling tag team match!


	6. Some Memories Never Die Part Two

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! and Final Fantasy VII are the respective properties of Kazuki Takahashi and Tetsuya Nomura. No copyright infringement is intended in the online display of this work.

._.

Chapter Five- Some Memories Never Die (II)

As Joey stood there, waiting on the body tackle that would end the duel for him, he could feel phantom pain and exhaustion enter his body as he remembered the last time he faced off against Valon. Both of them had been fighting their hardest, clad in full body suits of armor to duke it out for Mai's sake, illuminated by the green ambience of the Seal of Orichalos. He'd almost lost that fight, but he never gave up. And because he perservered, he won. And he wasn't about to let himself lose here, now.

Yugi winced as Joey got sent flying backwards several feet when the armor hit him, but his worry changed to a smile as he saw Joey's now face-up trap card.

"What?" Valon shouted as Joey stood up from the blow, and walked back to his rightful place in the duel. "That attack should've destroyed you!"

Joey smirked. "Normally, yeah, it woulda. But I told ya last time, I ain't losing. I've been gettin' stronger wit every duel I've won, and ya know what they say. A little Nutrient Z goes a long way. Tanks to my trap card, I got 4000 extra Life Points before your attack hit. So the damage I woulda taken is practically gone. And now your Shield and Sword card's effect goes bye-bye."

**Joey LP: 3800**

Valon smirked. "Not bad, Wheeler. You kept yourself aloive this turn. But oI'm still gonna win this thing. Just not right now. So it's back to you."

"All righty den, time to turn dis thing around, Joey style!" the blond duelist declared. "My move!"

"Don't forget about Purity of the Cemetery! You now lose 200 life points because of the monsters in your graveyard!" Rafael cut in.

"Yeah yeah, I remember." Joey muttered.

**Joey LP: 3600**

"First things first, I activate a little magic card known as Meteor of Destruction. Dis lets me sap 1000 Life Points from any opponent, as long as they have more than 3000 Life Points. And lucky you, Valon, you have that. So say hello to my space rock friend!"

A massive meteor formed in the sky above Valon before crashing into him and knocking him to the ground.

**Valon LP: 2500**

"Next, I summon my Swordsman of Landstar in attack mode! And I'll follow him up with a little something known as Graceful Dice! First I roll a die, and then my monster's attack points get multiplied by the number on the die. So, come on, Lady Luck, I need a winner!" Joey called, watching as the blue die fell towards the ground. It bounced and rolled for a minute before finally stopping on- "Awesome! A six! That means my Swordsman's attack points get raised to three thousand! And remember, Gaia Power strengthens all Earth monsters, so he gets an additional 500 point boost!"

The fairy warrior's blade began to glow red with power, and it stood taller. (**ATK 3500**)

"And I think I'll get rid of that Psychic Armor Head of yours and end dis thing. Go, Swordsman of Landstar! Wipe out Psychic Armor Head and the rest of his Life Points!" Joey commanded.

The warrior obeyed, and sliced through the mechanical helmet, but Active Guard shattered simultaneously.

"Did you forget, Wheeler? Moi Active Guard can be destroyed to keep me from taking any battle damage. And you've now wasted your good attack. Oh well." Valon stated, smiling.

"Crap!" Joey muttered. "Knew I was forgettin' somethin'. Ah well. Not much I can do now. I end my turn."

"Then it's my turn." Rafael stated, drawing two more cards. "And yeah, Yugi, I already know your little Magician over there gains 1000 attack points."

Silent Magician grew to what looked to be adulthood, and looked far more determined. (**ATK 2500**)

"Next, I activate Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards, and discard two of them." Rafael stated. "And I know that powers up your monster again, Yugi."

Silent Magician grew to full maturity, holding a strong staff, and looking sternly at the opponents. (**ATK 4000**)

Rafael considered his hand carefully, and picked the left two cards to discard. Purity of the Cemetery remained unharmed, so obviously no monsters were discarded. "And now, I activate Wicked Breaking Flamberge- Baou. This card allows me to summon my Guardian Baou in attack mode, so long as I discard one card from my hand! This sword raises my Guardian's strength by 500 points, and also allows him to negate the effect of any monster he engages in battle."

The dark guardian appeared before its master, holding its eponymous blade theateningly before it. (**ATK 1300**)

"Now, Guardian Baou, attack Joey's Swordsman of Landstar!" Rafael ordered.

The flamberge pierced easily through the cartoony warrior's stomach, causing it to shatter to pieces. Joey winced at the sight.

**Joey LP: 2800**

"My guardian also has another ability- whenever he destroys a monster in battle, he gains 1000 attack points. And then, I'll use Guardian Elma to slice through your Life Points first, and her second attack I'll use to eliminate Yugi's Silent Swordsman! Go, my Guardian!"

Joey jerked backwards as the sword sliced against him, and Yugi winced as his Swordsman met its end.

"You know what they say, Yugi. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. And your swordsman just did." Rafael taunted.

**Joey LP: 1700**

**Yugi LP: 3900**

"And that ends my turn for now. It's your move, Yugi." Rafael stated calmly.

"All right then! It's my turn!" Yugi called out, drawing his next card.

"Remember, my Purity of the Cemetery is still in effect, so you lose 100 Life Points!"

**Yugi LP: 3800**

"I know. I remember how the card works, believe me." Yugi replied, shuddering internally. That card had forced the pharaoh's hand, and put him in prime position to play the Seal of Orichalcos, or else risk losing... _I need to get that card off the field as soon as I possibly can. The only way I can do that is if I send a monster of his to the graveyard… I have more than enough attack points to finish him off, but I'm worried about what that face down card might be… It's probably better if I go after Valon, then. I can completely finish him off with one move._ "I'll place one monster face down. Then, I'll activate my Marshmallon Glasses. Once I equip this card to your Guardian Elma, Rafael, she won't be able to attack anything but my indestructible Marshmallon. And now, Valon, say good bye to your Buster Pyle and the rest of your Life Points! Silent Magician, blast that last bit of armor to kingdom come!"

Valon chuckled. "Not gonna be so easy, Yugi. You see, when Buster Pyle battles another monster, I don't take any damage. And, on top of that, your monster gets destroyed and you lose 500 Life Points. Too bad. So sad."

Yugi cringed as his Silent Magician got punched out as the glove which did so shattered with it.

**Yugi LP: 3300**

"I guess I end my turn." Yugi conceded, gesturing towards Valon.

"Now that's what oI loike to 'ear." Valon stated, drawing his next card. "Remember, moi Psychic Armor Head revoives itself each Standby Phase once it's in the Graveyard. And now oI'll summon moi Buster Knuckle in attack mode! This 'andy little piece of armor gains 200 attack points for every monster on the field. And, on top of that, if it attacks a monster with lower defense than itself, it takes the damage from your Loife Points. Not that it matters, since I'm using it to attack Wheeler instead. So, moi monster's now got 900 attack points to hit you with. Go, Buster Knuckle! Punch out 'alf of Wheeler's Loife Points!"

Joey got blown backwards and onto his behind as the fist collided directly with his jaw. _Huh… _he thought to himself. _Now I know how da pharaoh felt when I punched him out after he played da Seal… Ouch._ Brushing off the memory, he stood back to his feet, glaring determinedly at Valon.

**Joey LP: 800**

"That's about all the damage I can do for now. Your move, Wheeler!" Valon called.

Joey hesitantly drew his next card. _Man, I'm in trouble now… _he thought. _I was gonna use Premature Burial to bring back my Rocket Warrior and get rid of Guardian Elma, but dat would take out all my Life Points, and-_

"Remember, Purity of the Cemetery takes away 300 of your Life Points. Looks like you got two turns to turn this thing around before it's game over." Rafael stated.

**Joey LP: 500**

The blond duelist gulped loudly. _Okay… things are definitely NOT looking so good over here. I need to pull a comeback and fast, or else I'm gonna lose! At da very least, I need to get Valon out of da game so he can't hit my Life Points… But dese cards might help…_

"All right, Valon. Rafael. You might think ya got me beat, but I'm about to turn dis game around and upside down! First, I'll activate my Warrior Returning Alive magic card, which lets me bring back my Gearfried The Iron Knight from my Graveyard to my hand. And den, I'm gonna summon him in attack mode!"

Gearfried appeared on the field once more before its owner, standing stock still. (**ATK 1800**)

"And now, I'll activate a lovely little card known as Release Restraint. Dis lets me sacrifice my Gearfried the Iron Knight in order to summon my Gearfried the Swordsmaster from my deck, in attack mode!"

The armor around Gearfried shattered to reveal a highly-muscled swordsman glaring at Valon's monsters. (**ATK 2600**)

"Next, I'll use a handy little card known as Skull Dice. Dis card rolls a die, and divides your monsters' attack points by da number da die lands on."

The die fell to the ground, and landed on a five.

"Five. Sweet! Dat means your Psychic Armor Head's down to 100 attack points." Joey stated. "And now, to make sure you can't switch my attack target, I'll equip my monster with Burning Soul Sword! Now, ordinarily I'd be telling you what dis equip card does for me, but it doesn't really matter in dis case, because da real treat is what it lets my Gearfried the Swordsmaster do! When I equip him with an equip spell card, I get to destroy one monster on your side of da field. And I choose your Buster Knuckle!"

Valon jerked backwards as his other armor monster was shattered by a beam from the blade which the swordsmaster held. "No! That only leaves moi Psychic Armor Head, and as weak as he is, if it's attacked, then-!"

Joey smirked. "Dat's right. You lose. Go, Gearfried the Swordsmaster! Wipe out Psychic Armor Head, and take Valon outta dis duel!"

Valon fell to his knees as the blade of the swordsman cracked his faithful helmet, bringing his life points down to exactly zero. "Aw man. You really have gotten stronger than last toime, Wheeler. Looks loike unless Rafael pulls a win out of 'is hat, we'll be owing you lunch."

Joey shrugged. "Eh, well, it was fun facing off against ya again. Nice ta see ya don't have to rely on da Orichalcos as a crutch anymore. But dere's still a duel ta win here. I place one card face down, and end my turn."

Rafael smirked as he drew his next cards. "You two put up a good fight- but once I play these last cards, this duel's over. First, I activate Celestial Sword- Eatos! This lets me summon a guardian without equal to the field."

"No!" Yugi shouted, his eyes growing wide. "Not that card!"

"Yes." Rafael answered. "That card. Come to the field, Guardian Eatos!"

The eagle-angel-esque female guardian descended from above, and took hold of her eponymous sword. (**ATK 2800**)

"But before I let the real fun begin with her, I'll activate my Obedience card first. This lets me shift the battle position of any monster on the field to another, and I choose to shift your Marshmallon into attack mode, Yugi! Then, I'll attack it with my powered-up Guardian Baou! Remember, he has 2300 attack points, thanks to having destroyed Joey's Swordsman of Landstar, and thanks to his effect, he can destroy your indestructible goo ball over there, and remove those cartoonish glasses from my Guardian Elma. Go, Guardian Baou! Wipe out that oversized dessert topping and most of his Life Points!" Rafael called.

Guardian Baou did as its master commanded, and sliced the silly-looking Marshmallon in half, causing it to shatter.

**Yugi LP: 1300**

"And now, to finish this duel off with a bang. I activate my Guardian Eatos's special ability, Spirit of Celestial Sword! So long as I destroy the sword equipped to her, she gains 500 attack points for each of the three monsters in your graveyards, for a grand total of 5500 attack points. Not only that, but she can attack all of your monsters, wiping you both out at once!"

Joey and Yugi leaped back in surprise as Guardian Eatos's blade glowed with the spirits of their fallen monsters. There was a moment's pause, and the blade swung downwards, bringing with it a wave of light and destruction that would end the duel.

"Oh no!" Serenity, who had been quietly observing the duel until now shouted. "If that attack hits, then they lose the duel!"

Yugi felt his limbs start shaking as his mind raced back to the last time he'd seen this attack coming. Well, it was technically the pharaoh that had experienced it first hand, but he could feel it indirectly through him, and it was not a pleasant experience. He remembered his soul being ripped from its rightful place, and the fear was overwhelming him- but then he remembered his monster was in defense mode. He would take no damage from the onslaught. Joey's face down card could save him, maybe, but he was safe…

"Reveal trap card!" Joey shouted. "Divine Wrath! Dis card can be activated when an opponent activates the effect of an effect monster! Once I discard one card from my hand, I can destroy da effect monster whose effect got activated. So say goodbye to your Guardian Eatos and your Purity of the Cemetery card!"

"No!" Rafael shouted as his Guardian Eatos shattered from being struck by a bolt of divine lightning. "My guardian!"

Mere seconds later, Purity of the Cemetery shattered as well, leaving Rafael stunned. "There's nothing else I can do… I end my turn…"

Yugi sighed. He had been worried about losing. But now the duel was back in his hands, and he could finish this. He drew his next card, and smiled. This would be it for Rafael. "Sorry Rafael… but it looks like this duel's done. I activate Lightning Vortex! Once I discard one card from my hand, I get to destroy all monsters on your side of the field."

"No! Not my guardians!" Rafael cried out as lightning blasted all his precious creatures to the fate his dear Eatos faced.

"Next, I activate the magic of Monster Reborn, which lets me bring back to my side of the field your Guardian Eatos card!" Yugi stated, causing the monster to appear before him. "And now, I'll use Double Spell. So long as I discard my Aria from Beyond from my hand, I get to use one spell card from your graveyard. And the card I choose is your Celestial Sword- Eatos. And now, I'll do the same thing you did earlier, and activate Eatos's effect, discarding her sword, and increasing her attack points by 500 for the two Guardians in your graveyard, bringing her up to 3500! Now, Guardian Eatos! Attack his Life Points directly!"

Rafael's shocked expression was thrown into sharp relief by the wave of white-blue light consuming the battle field. Mere seconds later, he found himself in subjugation before his own monster, and his Life Points ticked down to zero.

"All right! They won!" Tristan shouted from the crowd.

"Way to go, Big Brother!" Serenity cheered.

"What did I miss?" Bakura asked, walking towards the action with trays of food for everyone.

"Yugi and Joey just challenged Rafael and Valon- those biker punks from Doma- and won!" Tristan informed him, smiling.

"So they've just won their first duel of the tournament, have they? That's excellent." Bakura replied, setting the food down on a nearby table. "We'd all bst get cracking then, and find our own opponents soon. But first, once all this commotion dies down, let's eat."

"I'm with ya on that one, pal." Tristan agreed.

Joey and Valon were high-fiving and clowning around like brothers as Yugi walked to help Rafael to his feet. Rafael ignored the profferred hand, and stood up on his own.

"You know," he began, "since I'd never really dueled you before, I thought you were just some weak little punk whose body the pharaoh was inhabiting, but you've really proven your strength to me. I get it now. Why he chose you for a host. You're a tough kid."

Yugi smiled. "Well, thanks. And I must say that you are a worthy opponent. That was a pretty close match. Had it not been for Joey's trap card, we both would have lost. So, thanks for a good match. Hopefully we'll see each other again, so we can have another go."

Rafael finally allowed his lips to spread to a smile. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Joey grumbled, "Hey! If you're done wit da soap opera moment, can we get dis lunch show on da road?"

Yugi laughed good-naturedly. "Always thinking with your stomach… Coming, Joey!"

The group of friends was now joined by Rafael and Valon. At first, the conversation was a bit awkward, but they were soon acting like the best of friends. Everyone was happy, until Alister walked up to the table, looking very sullen.

"What's wrong, Alister?" Valon asked. "Got a bug up your bum, or did you lose a duel or something?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't even hear that first one, and yes to the second." Alister grumbled. "I dueled against Rufus ShinRa. That asshole thinks he can just buy his way into something like this. I thought he'd be an easy target- but no such luck. He took me out in five turns. Be careful if you have to duel him. That's all I'm saying."

Yugi felt a chill enter his body at the redhead's words. _Wow. He sounds like a really strong duelist… Plus, I doubt he's here just for the card games. Maybe I should keep an eye on him, and see what he's up to…_

"Hey Yug'!" Joey shouted, shattering Yugi's thought processes. "It's Mai! I see her right outside of da Food Court!"

Tristan elbowed Joey in the ribs. "Then go talk to her. We'll catch up in a minute. The rest of us are trying to finish eating."

"Oh Tristan." Yugi sighed. "Come on. Let's all go. It's been a while since we've seen her."

Tristan grumbled, but reluctantly left his food behind to follow Joey out to the streets.

"Hey! Mai!" Joey called out, causing the blonde, busty duelist to turn towards him.

"Joey?" she asked. "Joey Wheeler? Great to see you, hon. It's been ages."

"I know, right?" Joey asked. "How's that whole travellin' da world thing been going for ya?"

"Good, good. But when I got the invite to this tournament, I figured I'd put the duel disk back on and try my hand at Duel Monsters again." Mai answered.

Joey opened his mouth to reply, but was swiftly silenced as a man brushed right past him. Joey was about to tell him off, but then he recognized who it was. And he wasn't the only one.

"Isn't that Vincent from earlier?" Yugi asked, his eyes scanning over the Frenchman.

He hardly even looked like the same person anymore. His hair was down, flowing past his shoulders, held out of his face only by a red headband. He had dropped the suit for a pair of leather pants and a tight black belt-bonded shirt that looked like something he'd have stolen out of Yugi's closet. Black fingerless gloves graced his hands, and he walked towards Mai with purpose.

"Mai Valentine. It's been years since we last saw each other, hasn't it?" Vincent asked, all traces of the French accent from earlier completely eradicated.

Mai's every muscle tensed, and she turned back to face the taller man. "Vincent. What part of 'get the hell out of my life and don't ever bother me again' is too difficult for you to understand?"

Vincent placed a hand over his heart. "After all these years, this is how you greet me? I thought you'd be a bit happier to see your only cousin."

._.

Uh-oh! Looks like there's some family issues coming up. Next time: the secrets of the Valentine family revealed! Who will emerge victorious? Find out next time!


	7. Valentine's Torn Apart Mai vs Vincent

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over the Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy VII franchises. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright owners.

._.

Chapter Six- Valentine's Torn Apart- Vincent vs Mai

"Cousin?"

Mai looked away in embarassment at the loud unison chorus of all the familiar faces surrounding her. _Joey, you loudmouth…_ she thought. _Now the whole damn world has to hear about it._

A wry smirk twisted the corner of Vincent's mouth at Mai's expression. "Yes. I'm her cousin. What, did she never mention me?"

Joey shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Mai, seriously, why didn't ya mention ya had a cousin?"

Bakura grabbed Joey's shoulder fiercely, and gave him a warning look. "I wouldn't ask, if I were you. Something tells me those two don't exactly get along very well."

"Nah, what makes you say that, Bakura? The fact that they're having a glaring contest at the moment?" Tristan asked sarcastically.

Yugi gulped as he looked directly into Vincent's crimson eyes. Earlier, during the duel with Leon, he had seen warmth, kindness there. Now, there was a cold hard glint of _pure malice_ for all to see. It wasn't too difficult now to imagine him, as Joey had been theorizing earlier, as a 'bad guy'...

"What the hell are you doing here, Vincent?" Mai asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Did you miss the announcement?" Vincent retorted. "I'm a finalist here. Just like you. And I've got a few things to settle with you."

"And let me guess- you want me to duel you for it." Mai taunted. "Please. You might have won some low-key national tournament, but this is the big leagues, hon. You can't hack it here."

"Says the woman who placed fourth in Duelist Kingdom." Vincent shot back. "I'm challenging you to a duel. You have to accept, or else you lose your place in the finals. So, it's up to you. Either you accept my challenge, or walk away and lose your slot. Either way, I'm still going to win. It's just how much you want to make me work for it."

"So, you think you're a hotshot, huh?" Mai challenged, activating her duel disk. "All right, Vinny, I kicked your ass when we were kids, and I can kick it again now!"

"Let's duel!" both duelists shouted, commencing the next battle of the tournament.

"Ladies first." Mai called, gesturing towards Vincent.

"By all means, please." Vincent replied wryly, gesturing back towards Mai.

The blonde duelist gritted her teeth at the insult having backfired, but drew her hand nonetheless. "I was trying to give you an advantage. Last time I ever show _you_ any consideration. "

She scanned over the cards in her hand. _All right… Let's see what I have to work with right now…_ Her eyes zeroed in on the last two cards in her hand. _These might be a nice way to start._

"First off, I'll summon my Harpie Lady in attack mode!" Mai called out, watching as her beloved winged creature took its place before her. (**ATK 1300**) "And then I'll lay this card face down for later. Your move, cuz."

The smirk parted into a twisted smile upon the raven-haired duelist's face. "You and your Harpies. So predictable. All right. I summon my Absorbing Kid from the Sky in attack mode!"

Mai laughed as an exceedingly chubby childlike angel appeared on Vincent's side of the field. (**ATK 1300**) "So that's your best defense? A fat kid?"

Vincent held up a warning finger. "Don't underestimate any of my monsters. The results will not be pleasant if you do. My Absorbing Kid may not have much in the way of offense, but he can take out your Harpie Lady without any trouble. That is, unless your trap card has anything that can stop him. Go! Destroy her Harpie Lady."

Mai's eyes narrowed as Harpie Lady shattered, followed by the Absorbing Kid. "Nice move, genius. You just wiped out your own monster."

"True. But, my Absorbing Kid has a special ability- when he destroys a monster in battle- whether he survives or not, my Life Points get increased by the level of that monster times 300. Which means, while I may have lost an attacker early on, it not only cost you an attacker, but gave me 1200 more Life Points." Vincent stated.

**Vincent LP: 5200**

"Now, I'll play two cards face down, and end my turn. Back to you, Mai." Vincent added, laying two more cards before him.

The busty duelist smirked confidently as she drew her next card. "Your face-down cards are worthless, Vincent. First off, I summon my Cyber Harpie Lady, in attack mode!"

A creature which looked almost identical to the first, save for the cybernetic armor encasing it, appeared before Mai. (**ATK 1800**)

"Next, I activate Harpie's Feather Duster, which destroys all your face-down cards!" Mai declared, activating her favorite magic card, and relishing Vincent's expression as his cards shattered. "And now, I'll activate a little something known as Elegant Egotist. This magic card lets me summon Harpie Lady Sisters to my side of the field from my hand of deck. Can you say hello to some serious girl power?"

A trio of Harpies that moved as a single unit appeared next to Cyber Harpie, and each looked very similar to the other. (**ATK 1950**)

"I now have more than enough power in my monsters' claws to scratch out half your Life Points, Vincent! You should've just surrendered from the start if you were gonna put up this pathetic of a fight." Mai taunted, looking over at Vincent's defenseless side of the field.

"How dare you… I'll _never_ surrender!" Vincent shouted from the other side of the field, rather disproportionately loud for the public area, causing an awkward silence to ensue for a few seconds.

"So you'd rather die hard, huh? That'd be a first. Go, my Harpies! Claw out most of his Life Points!" Mai commanded, sending her Harpies for an all-out assault.

Vincent held up an arm to shield himself from the four harpies' claws, causing them to hit his duel disk directly.

**Vincent LP: 2450**

"That's all I can do for now. Make your next move, hotshot." Mai finished, pointing towards Vincent.

"Fine." Vincent stated, drawing his next card. "I summon my Witch of the Black forest in defense mode."

Mai rolled her eyes. "You're gonna have to duel better than that if you want to win. Face it, Vincent, you don't have what it takes to be in this tournament."

"Just like I didn't have what it took to be considered a part of the family?" Vincent replied, his voice taking on a deeply cynical tone. "Just like I didn't have what it took to control myself?"

Mai gritted her teeth. "Somehow, I just knew you were going to bring that up."

"Mai, what's going on?" Joey asked. "What's he talking about?"

Vincent looked over towards his cousin's little fanclub, and sharply stated, "She knows exactly what I mean. See, I doubt Mai ever told you this, but the reason why she's hesitant to talk about me is because of something that happened back when we were teenagers. I was denied my rightful fortune, even my place in the family because little miss bleach blonde over there got me institutionalized!"

Joey, Yugi, Bakura, Tristan, and Serenity gasped in unison.

"No way…" Yugi muttered.

"Mai… Mai wouldn't do dat!" Joey insisted. "Not unless she had a damn good reason to!"

"And I did!" Mai added, looking more at Vincent than at Joey. "You attacked me!"

"That wasn't ME!" Vincent insisted, looking desperately back at Mai.

"Oh, here we go again with the whole 'it wasn't me' spiel. Please, Vincent, no one believed it the first time, and no one's buying it now. It's all in your head." Mai retorted, cutting him off.

"It's not in my HEAD!" Vincent shouted back, leaving all viewers in a stunned silence. "You know what you saw that day. I know what I felt that day. And we both know that it wasn't me that attacked you. But you lied about it anyway."

"Mai, seriously, what is he talkin' about?" Joey asked. "He attacked you? When? Why? What does he mean when he says it wasn't him?"

Mai opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off with a fearsome glare from Vincent. "You want to know the truth? I can give you the story…"

.-.-.-.

_As children, Mai and I were really close friends. We were the only relatives the other could stand, given the rest were generally very smug and up themselves about family business, and neither of us really had the patience for that sort of thing. As close as we were, though, our parents were always travelling. My father, Grimoire, was a scientist, and that meant we had to move wherever his next experiment took him. And Mai's parents were elite socialites, usually too busy with parties to bother with her. It was only sporadically that we got to see one another after the age of nine or ten. And then, one year, when I was fourteen, and off visiting at her house for the day, there was an- I suppose the best word for it would be an incident._

_I hadn't been feeling well at all for the past several weeks. My parents attributed it to typical hormonal, puberty-related issues, but I could tell that this wasn't just some growth spurt. Something felt seriously wrong. And I could hear this voice- this demonic, monstrous voice- whispering at the back of my mind… I had been ignoring it for several weeks, but that day was worse than any other, and Mai said something that would be merely frustrating at any other time, and- it- I- snapped. This thing, this presence trapped inside me rushed to the forefront, and I could feel my body changing to a form more comfortable for 'it'. I don't even remember what happened next- only that when I came to, Mai was bleeding from shallow claw wounds in her arms._

.-.-.-.

Bakura felt an eerily familiar chill run down his spine at Vincent's story. _Hearing voices and blanks in memory? That sounds more like possession by a spirit… It could be the ravings of a madman, but he seems far too close to reality to be that insane._

"Vincent, all this 'demonic presence' talk is nothing but Grade A bullshit." Mai retorted. "You just can't accept the fact that you did this to me, and you want attention for your issues, so you're trying to mess with my head by bringing up this monster business."

"You know what you saw!" Vincent yelled, pointing an accusatory finger towards Mai. "Don't try to deny it! You know what really happened!"

"Yeah, I know what really happened!" the blonde duelist shot back. "You went crazy! And quite frankly, I don't see why they released you when you're still dealing with these kinds of violent delusions!"

"They're not delusions!" he cut her off. "You lied to them, saying only what would make you look good and sane. You and your parents talked with my father, and agreed to settle the matter out of court- so long as my father got some psychiactric assistance for me."

Mai's lips hardened into a single line. "I was trying to save you from juvie."

Vincent scoffed. "Right. You were trying to 'save me' from juvenile detention. The most I'd have been kept there for was several months, maybe a year if I wasn't well-behaved, but you- you just had to go for the maximum sentence, didn't you? You know a little fun fact about psychiactric hospitals? _They don't have dates to release you by_. You're released from their care once they've deemed you well enough to function in society, and not a second before."

Mai sighed. "Let me guess- now you're gonna go off spinning some overly dramatic yarn about how the place they kept you was worse than Bedlam on acid, and how much they tortured you, right?"

"Oh no." Vincent contradicted. "No, the place where I had been committed was completely up to code and standards, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant place to be…"

.-.-.-.

_After one interview with one psychiatrist about the incident that occurred, I was swiftly slapped with the 'schizophrenic' and 'dissociative identity' labels before being shipped off to the local psych ward. Now, the place was, as I said, up to code, and hardly a Bedlam, but to be treated as if you're a precocious three year old any time you try to tell those in charge the truth about what happened is extremely maddening. They were also very, very careful about monitoring the behavior of all the patients, especially those in the adolescent male ward. Any signs of aggression were met with sedatives and spending time in the 'quiet room', where you were instructed to stay on your little blow-up mattress and not to move until your 'sentence' had passed. Now, here's something that's really fun: Imagine you have a very active, very brilliant mind- and you've had so many antipsychotic drugs shoved down your throat that it dulls and slows your mental processes to barely above comatose. That's how I spent most of my time my first year locked up._

_Now, after the first year, I learned what I needed to say to make myself appear well, but because there were still frequent 'relapses' where my mind had gone blank, I was there for four more years until it was deemed I was making sufficient progress. And it was another two before I was finally released from their care. Let me just reiterate that: I spent seven years of my life locked up in a psychiactric hospital. And while they made sure all the patients kept up with proper schoolwork when they were in fit state of mind to do so, that didn't make it any easier to find work- or higher education. After all, what college wants a student who's just gotten out of the loony bin?_

_I finally got a job working for a company for a few years, but circumstances unforeseen forced my employment there to an end. I needed to get away from the stigma, to get away from this reputation of madness that had followed me since my youth, and the only way I could manage that was to get out of the country. I cleaned out my savings account, and uprooted my life, travelling to France, where I've been living for the past several years._

.-.-.-.

"So you ran away from your problems- as usual- instead of manning up and facing them." Mai sneered. "Typical. And now you've spent how long obsessing over revenge aganst me? Ten, fifteen odd years? Freud would have a field day with you."

Vincent narrowed his eyes. "Yes, well Freud had a very one-track mind. And as beautiful as you look, _ma cousine_, I think I'll pass. Two reasons: one, you're my cousin. My blood cousin. That's just disgusting. And two: even putting aside that issue, you're not my type, regardless."

"Oh really?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what, _mon cousin_, would be your type? _Les hommes_? Wouldn't surprise me, given where you've been slinking off to the past few years!"

"Eh… what da heck's goin' on?" Joey asked, looking around for someone in the group to answer him. "What're dey talkin' about now?"

Bakura's forehead made close acquaintance with his palm. "They've gone from discussing Vincent's years in the asylum to talking about his sexuality…"

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Oooookaaaayyyy… Random topic, much?"

"This is what happens when you bring a family issue into public light." Bakura sighed. "All sorts of skeletons- existent or not- get dragged out of the closet."

Vincent's face, all the while, was contorting with varying degrees of shock and anger. "That's- you- I- how _dare_ you! I'll have you know, I had a girlfriend."

"Oh really? And what ever happened to her?" the blonde duelist challenged.

Vinent looked like he'd rather be having a root canal than saying the next words pulled out of his mouth. "She left me. And died shortly afterwards in a lab-related accident."

Mai's expression softened somewhat. She hadn't expected that answer at all. "Vincent… I'm sorry. I had no idea… Look, I was only teasing you earlier, like when we were kids, remember? I wasn't trying to insult you- or anything- I just…"

"It's a bit late to apologize for it now that you've already said it." Vincent cut her off. "At any rate, we need to get back to this duel, so I can seal my place in the finals. I place one card face down, and end my turn. Your move."

Mai drew her next card, and smirked. "Looks like this duel's over before it could even begin. Been nice seeing you again, cuz, but I've got finals to win. I summon my Harpie Lady #2, in attack mode!"

An orange haired Harpie identical to one of the Harpie Sisters appeared on Mai's side of the field. (**ATK 1300**)

"Now, Harpie Lady #2, attack his Witch of the Black Forest!" Mai shouted.

"Reveal trap! Mirror Force! This card reflects your attack right back at you, destroying all your monsters, and taking the sum of their attack points from your Life Points!" Vincent declared, raising the face down card for all to see.

"I know how the card works." Mai retorted. "Not that it matters. My Trap Jammer cancels it out, as long as I discard one card from my hand!"

The Witch of the Black Forest shattered as Harpie Lady #2's claws raked through her, leaving Vincent completely defenseless.

"Remember, when my witch is destroyed, I can add one monster with a defense of 1500 or less from my deck to my hand." Vincent reminded, picking one monster out of his deck before shuffling it again.

"Yeah, yeah." Mai stated, rolling her eyes. "Not like it's gonna do you that much good. My Harpies have more than enough attack points to finish you off! Now, my Harpie Lady Sisters, attack his Life Points directly!"

Vincent groaned in pain as the three sisters clawed him across the chest.

**Vincent LP: 500**

"Now, my Cyber Harpie, finish this duel off! Attack him with your metal claws!" Mai commanded, sending her final monster to do battle with him.

Cyber Harpie's claws aimed for Vincent, but where met by a phantom Kuriboh, which shattered upon the impact.

"What?" Mai asked, completely bewildered. "That should've finished you off!"

Vincent smirked. "Did you think Yugi Muto was the only duelist to make use of Kuriboh? Please, Mai. By discarding _mon petit ami effrayant_, I can nullify one of your attacks."

Mai grumbled. "All right, fine. Make your move."

Vincent sighed as he overlooked his hand. "There doesn't appear to be all that much I can do. I'll place one monster face-down in defense position, and end my turn. It's your move again, _ma cousine_."

Mai raised an eyebrow. _He's hardly even putting up a fight. What the hell is he thinking? If he's so pissed off about what happened years ago, you'd think he'd be fighting a little harder than this! Well… no matter._ A smirk twisted the corners of her mouth upwards as she glimpsed her next drawn card. _This way, I can send cousin Vinny packing with a bang._

"All right, Vincent, you wanna just lay down and take it like the rest of your countrymen, then I'm gonna send you off in the grandest way imaginable!" the busty duelist shouted from across the field. "I activate my Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation! This magic card lets me destroy a number of monsters equivalent to the number of Harpies of my side of the field, and deduct your monster's attack points. In case you can't figure it out, that means you lose! Now, my Harpies, finish him off and secure my place in the finals!"

The Harpies on the field arranged in formation, and were surrounded by a bird of blue fire, which rushed towards Vincent's face-down monster, preparing to send him packing back towards the country from whence he came…

._.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Next time, join as as Vincent pulls a massive comeback and is poised for victory- but- what's this? Could Kaiba have discovered something about Rufus ShinRa that the latter doesn't want publicized? Find out next time!


	8. Valentine's Torn Apart Part Two

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownership over the Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy VII franchises. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright owners.

._.

Chapter Seven- Valentine's Torn Apart (Part Two)

Vincent stood there almost listlessly as the deadly burning blue phoenix rushed for his face-down monster, and completely obliterated it. Mere seconds later, upon hearing Mai's shocked gasp that he was still standing there with narry a scratch to his Life Points, he smiled.

"Well done, _ma cousine_, you've successfully shown the most epic failure of a use of that card in the history of the game." Vincent taunted. "My face-down monster, Battle Fader, has no attack points, so you wasted your best card and your Battle Phase for absolutely nothing. _C'est tragique!_"

Mai gritted her teeth in a growl. "Fine. I end my turn. But it's about time you stopped stalling and started really dueling over there! You're boring me half to death over here!"

Vincent's smile remained as he drew his next card. "Fortunately for you, my Battle Fader automatically removes itself from play, so it cannot be used as fuel for any of my Chaos monsters. However, I can play my Change of Heart magic card, which lets me take control of your Harpie Lady Sisters. Then, I'll place one card face down. Next, I activate the magic card Raigeki, which destroys all monsters on your side of the field!"

Mai jerked back with a small cry as all her Harpies were obliterated by lightning from the sky.

Vincent's smile grew a few molars, and became even more twisted. Yugi shuddered at the sight of the Frenchman's eyes, and the predatory gleam which now seemed to lurk within them. The man's voice was just above a wicked whisper as he stated, "And now, it's time you are acquainted with one of my favorite monsters in my deck. I sacrifice your Harpie Lady Sisters in order to bring to the field my faithful Vampire Lord!"

Mai drew her arms in around herself and shivered at the sight of the demon emerging from its coffin- and then, came to her senses, and shouted, "Big deal! So you dragged some monster out of a B horror movie! I'm really shaking over here!"

"You should be." Vincent hissed. "You're completely defenseless against my monster's attacks. Now, go, my creature of the night, and suck dry half of my opponent's Life Points!"

The Vampire Lord smirked, and vanished into thin air. Mai looked around wildly for the creature for a moment before she felt a pair of arms restrain her. She cried out as the demon's fangs pierced her neck, and remained there for several moments before finally withdrawing and returning back to his master's side of the field.

**Mai LP: 2000**

"And remember, Vampire Lord's attacks force you to give up one card in your deck of the type of my choosing. And I wish for you to surrender one of the traps that lie in wait for me." Vincent stated. "Once you've selected and discarded your card, it's your move once more."

"All right." Mai conceded, reluctantly drawing out her Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation before discarding it to the graveyard. "My move now!"

As she saw her next card, she couldn't help but smile. Vincent had put up a good fight, but nothing he had could stand against her next monster swarm.

"First off, I activate my own Monster Reborn card, which allows me to resurrect my first Harpie Lady that you destroyed!" Mai called out, watching as her red-haired birdwoman appeared before her once more. "Next, I'll use the magic card Double Summon! This lets me normal summon two monsters in one turn! So say hello to my Harpie Girl and my Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon!"

A small, cute, pink-winged, blonde-haired Harpie (**ATK 500**) appeared next to a miniature, far less threatening version of Harpie's Pet Dragon (**ATK 1200**).

"Now here comes the fun part. Well, fun for me, anyways. My Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon has many possible effects depending on how many Harpies are on my side of the field. Right now, there are two. That means my little creature's attack points double, giving me more than enough firepower to take out your Vampire Lord, and most of the rest of your Life Points!" Mai stated, pointing right at Vincent. "It's been nice seeing you, hon, but it's time you got the hell out of my life! Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, let's give his Vampire Lord a nice toasty fire bath!"

The tiny dragon inhaled deeply, and blew out a somewhat unsteady stream of fire that nonetheless wiped Vincent's Vampire Lord out, completely incinerating it to ashes.

**Vincent LP: 100**

"And now, Harpie Girl, why don't you do the honors and scratch out the rest of his Life Points?" Mai called, bringing the chibi-Harpie forward to attack Vincent and completely finish off the duel.

"I activate my trap, A Hero Emerges!" Vincent declared. "You choose one random card from my hand, and if it's a monster, it gets summoned to the field! If not, it's discarded to the graveyard."

"Leaving an awful lot to chance, aren't ya?" Mai asked.

"Not exactly." Vincent replied, smirking.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll just pick the card on the far left and get this over with!"

"You shouldn't have done that." Vincent stated, shaking his head. "That card you picked was a monster card. Not that it mattered. All the cards in my hand were monsters. Now, say hello to my Dimensional Alchemist!"

A heavily-armored in white and gold figure appeared on Vincent's side of the field. (**ATK 1300**)

"And it's too late to call off your Harpie Girl's attack, so say goodbye to 800 of your Life Points!" Vincent taunted.

A wave of dimension-warping energy crashed into the Harpie Girl, causing her to shatter into a million pieces.

**Mai LP: 1200**

"Big deal! My Harpie Lady and your Dimensional Alchemist still have the same number of attack points! Now, let's go, Harpie Lady, and leave him with no defense once more!" Mai retorted.

"Not quite." Vincent interrupted. "Once per turn, I can activate my alchemist's special effect, which lets me remove from play the top card of my deck in order for him to gain 500 attack points."

The top card on Vincent's deck shattered, surrounding his Dimensional Alchemist with a sinister glow. (**ATK 1800**)

Harpie Lady was surrounded by a dimensional portal before being crushed into a veritable black hole and removed from sight.

"No!" Mai cried out as her Life Points began ticking downwards again.

**Mai LP: 700**

Mai wordlessly gestured towards Vincent, showing that there was nothing else she could do that turn.

"Remember, my Vampire Lord returns to the field each turn thanks to his special ability." Vincent reminded as his dark lord woke from his coffin once more. "I now have two monsters on the field, both of which more than powerful enough that, should they attack your monster, your Life Points would fall to zero. I remove the next card from the top of my deck to keep my Dimensional Alchemist's power boost in effect, and now have two options as to how to end this battle. So, which way would you rather me end this? By having my Vampire Lord fest upon dragon's blood, or by sending said dragon to the void? Well?"

Mai's arms drew closer into her stomach, almost as if she were trying to hold herself together. Everyone watching the duel could see that she was shaking violently. Joey, Yugi, and Tristan gasped in unison while Serenity and Bakura looked at Mai with concern.

Joey's eyes widened. _Oh man… I remember her breaking down like dat first time we fought her when she was using da Seal of Orichalcos… I thought dat maybe she was past all dat, but seeing her now… I dunno…_

Vincent's triumphant smirk began shifting towards a concerned expression. The tension and anger in his face almost seemed to evaporate as he saw his cousin looking so vulnerable. This… this trembling thing wasn't the confident, arrogant, borderline bitchy cousin he once knew. This was a woman who had been in serious pain- and was incredibly scared… "Mai?"

"No… no…" Mai moaned, her voice barely above a whisper in strength. "I can't lose… I won't lose… I swore I'd never lose again… Can't lose… Won't go back there… Have to win… Can't lose… Don't want to go back to that place… I can't… Lose…"

"Mai, what's wrong?" Vincent asked, a note of worry slipping into his voice in spite of himself. He wanted to feed his anger, his hatred, but in the face of something like this he just couldn't hold on to it. "Are you all right? _Qu'est-ce qu'il y a_?"

"Mai!" Joey cried out, running to her side and grabbing her by the shoulders. The blonde duelist slowly inclined her head towards him. "Mai, listen to me. You're gonna be okay. Dis isn't one of dem losses where somethin bad's gonna happen to ya if ya don't win. You're not goin back to da Shadow Realm. You're stayin right here, wit me. And Yugi. And all your friends who love ya. Right, guys?"

"Yeah! We're right behind you all the way!" Tristan cheered.

"You bet! We'll always be here when you need us!" Yugi added.

"You're a strong woman, Mai." Serenity stated. "You can make it through this."

Mai looked around in wonder at the group of friends standing close by before finally looking Joey in the eye. "You're right. You all are. I need to stop being such a big baby about this, put on my big girl shorts, and deal with it. I can't win all the time, and to freak out like this when the stakes aren't even that high is just plain stupid… I just… I just don't know if I can face losing alone right now…"

"Ya don't have to." Joey soothed. "I'll be right here. Right by your side. Hey! Vincent! If you're gonna attack, go ahead and do it now! I'm takin dis hit right by her side. Ya got me?"

Vincent nodded. "All right. Vampire Lord, wipe out her Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon and finish this duel!"

Vampire Lord flew over to the tiny dragon and slashed his claws through it's tough hide, shattering it, and bringing Mai's Life Points down to zero.

Joey held Mai close as the latter dropped to her knees, trying her hardest not to cry. "It'll be okay, Mai. It'll be okay."

Vincent ran over to his collapsed cousin, and dropped to his own knees to look her in the eye. "Mai. Is everything all right? Why did you just-?"

Joey hesitated for a moment, then answered for her. "Back in da Battle City Finals, she lost a really important duel and was put through a big traumatic ordeal for several years as a result. She kinda lost hope in everythin', and looked for meanin' in dis creepy cult-thing named Doma, but she eventually got away from dem, and has been trying to get back to normal life for a while now."

"A cult?" Vincent asked, now thoroughly confused. Mai must have gone through something terrible to become weak-minded enough to follow something like that. "Listen, Mai, are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean… maybe you should see a therapist… I'm not saying that to be ironic or cruel, it's just a suggestion."

Mai laughed bitterly. "Trust me, hon, a visit to a therapist after what I've been through would get me locked up in the loony bin longer than you were. And about that- I'm sorry. You're right… that wasn't you that attacked me. It was something else using you. I didn't have any experience with the supernatural at that age, and now I've seen more than enough of it to last me a lifetime. So.. for everything you went through as a result of my actions, I'm sorry, Vince. I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Vincent nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry for going after you so cruelly. Had I known what you'd been through, I wouldn't have targeted you at all. I was just so angry after-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Mai interrupted. "You don't have to give me the soap opera version. Let's just shake hands and call it even, okay?"

Joey released Mai from his arms as she extended her hand towards Vincent. Vincent took the proffered hand, but then, seconds later, forewent it in favor of a familial embrace.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Here comes the blubberfest."

Vincent jerked away from her at that moment. "Years later, and you still can't take a single sign of affection as anything other than weakness? You're still the same ice queen like when we were kids."

"And you're still the same old wimp." Mai replied with an impish smirk on her face.

As the cousins stood to their feet, beginning to argue in rapid-fire French, Yugi sighed. _It's good to know they've at least reconciled with one another. That's two old grudges laid to rest in a single day. Who knows what else this tournament might hold?_

._.

Pegasus looked over the information going past him on the computer screen, and his remaining eye widened as he found a very interesting set of files on Rufus ShinRa's personal laptop. He'd only meant to borrow the laptop to look up one of his favorite episodes of Funny Bunny, since he had to leave his boxed set of the cartoons back at his castle, but had accidentally clicked on one of the desktop folders instead.

"Kaiba-boy! I think you might want to have a look at this. It's very interesting." Pegasus called.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I'm not watching your asinine cartoons."

He turned to look at the computer screen anyway, and found himself confronted with a picture of the silver-haired duelist from the United States, Sephiroth Crescent.

"Why would he have information on Sephiroth on his laptop?" Kaiba wondered aloud, walking over to Pegasus's shoulder, and bending down to see the data more clearly.

"It's obvious, isn't it, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus stated. "Sephy-boy works for him. See?"

The brown-haired CEO looked where Pegasus was pointing, and found next to Sephiroth's photo 'Occupation: ShinRa SOLDIER 1st class'.

"SOLDIER…" Kaiba muttered. "I'd heard rumors that ShinRa had been requisitioned by the United States government to create a division of super-soldiers, but the whole thing was just pure nonsense. Though this is worth investigating a bit."

"And that's not all." Pegasus added. "I've also found files on Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife, and Vincent Valentine."

He pulled up each portfolio in a window next to one another as he listed them off. Kaiba scanned the information on the screen before him.

'_Aerith Gainsborough. Ancient Blood Status: Confirmed. To be watched closely.' 'Cloud Strife. Occupation: Unemployed. Failed tests to become SOLDIER- deferred to Dr. Hojo for further study upon capture.' 'Vincent Valentine. Occupation: ShinRa Administrative and Tecnology Department AKA Turk. Employment Status: Terminated.' _Kaiba thought, reading bits and pieces of information off the page. Aloud, he asked, "Why the hell would Rufus have this kind of information on these people?"

"That, I'm afraid, is none of your concern." a voice coolly cut in from the doorway. Kaiba and Pegasus turned around as one to find themselves staring at a highly irate Rufus ShinRa. "Whatever happened to respecting my privacy? Keep snooping around, and I'm pulling my company's funding from this tournament."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "I don't take threats of extortion very well. We agreed to open disclosure of all investments related to this tournament- that includes whatever money you've spent in gathering this information on the contestants, so I think we have a right to an explanation, Rufus."

Rufus laughed as though he were dealing with a precocious child. "You just don't get it, do you? You're not the ones in charge of this tournament anymore. I am. It's my money being spent here- and it's my money being wasted, should I fail in gathering those my company wants returned. So I suggest you two keep your noses out of my files, unless you want to find yourselves bankrupted and with your legs broken."

The blond-haired CEO snapped shut his laptop, and exited the room with it in his arms, slamming the door shut loudly behind him.

._.

Next time: Join us as we meet our old friend Rebecca Hawkins- who meets up with- for her- an old foe by the name of Sephiroth! Will she be able to repeat her win against the silver-haired duelist? Find out next time!


	9. Rematch With the Puppetmaster

**Disclaimer: **Kazuki Takahashi and Tetsuya Normua own the Yu-Gi-Oh! and Final Fantasy VII franchises. Not me. No copyright infringement is intended in the uploading of this work.

._.

Chapter Eight- Rematch With the Puppetmaster- Rebecca vs Sephiroth

Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Serenity, and Bakura had agreed to let Vincent and Mai go off on their own so they could catch up after spending years apart. It seemed fair to let them reconcile their differences completely, so that everyone else could go looking for their opponents.

"I wonder who we're going to run into next…" Bakura wondered aloud. "First you meet up with Rafael, Valon, and Alister, and then we run into Mai, so who else are we going to run into today?"

"Yugi!" a familiar, but slightly lower pitched voice than before called out, answering Bakura's question for him.

The group turned as one to find Rebecca Hawkins, who had been around twelve the last time they'd seen her, grown to the age of seventeen. She was about the same height as Serenity now, and she let her hair grow down to about mid-back. The same crescent-shaped glasses sat on her nose as last time, and she was wearing a professional-looking light blue business suit with a skirt that was just above her knees. And she was running right towards them. Specifically, right towards Yugi. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"G-good to see you too, Rebecca!" Yugi choked out, barely able to breathe. _As much as I wish Tea was here right now, I don't think she'd appreciate this… She told me over the phone that she hated not being able to be here, but she couldn't take time off from her classes. Especially not after all the hard work she did to even get in to that dancing school… But, she did say she'd be following up on the results on TV or online, so she'll be here in spirit, at least._

"Oh Yugi, gracious, it's been ages and ages hasn't it?" Rebecca asked, finally relinqishing her grip on the man. "You've gotten so much taller now, I almost didn't recognize you!"

Yugi laughed. "I've had a lot of people tell me that."

"Oh, and your voice sounds lower too!" Rebecca noted with a squeal of delight. "Wow. The resemblance is really uncanny… You almost look and sound like the pharaoh now. Well, there's a few differences, of course, but wow. I guess he's already moved on, then?"

Yugi nodded, a vaguely wistful smile on his face. "Yeah. He's gone back to where he belongs… We all miss him, but it was high time he moved beyond this world."

Rebecca nodded solemnly. "I understand. Oh! I don't suppose you've heard about Gramps' new research, have you? He recently discovered-"

"Well, well, well. Miss Rebecca Hawkins. We meet again." a much deeper voice greeted from behind the group.

Rebecca glanced over the shoulders of her friends, and sighed. She'd know that silver hair anywhere. "Sephiroth. I suppose you're here for a rematch?"

Yugi looked where Rebecca's eyes were focusing, and found himself staring at Sephiroth. The man had silver hair longer than Rebecca's with two unruly spikes sticking up in front. His eyes were a sharp shade of jade green, and he wore a pair of black leather pants and a tight-fitting black tank top which had a triangular cut down to about mid-chest level, revealing quite an impressive glimpse at the man's pectoral muscles.

Joey shivered, and whispered to Tristan, "Man, dat dude gives me da freakin' creeps."

"You said it." Tristan hissed back.

Sephiroth smiled lightly. "Only if you weren't about to challenge any of the other finalists standing here. Our match in the US National Finals was a really close one. Too close, for my taste. So, I'd like another shot."

"Another shot for me to kick your butt, you mean." Rebecca retorted, activatng her duel disk.

"Let's duel!" both duelists shouted in unison, beginning the rematch.

"Since I got the first move at the finals, how about you go first this time, Sephiroth?" Rebecca asked.

"Fine by me." Sephiroth stated. "I play my Spirit Reaper in attack mode!"

A skull figure in a purple robe holding a scythe in its hand appeared before him. (**ATK 300**)

"Next, I play my magic card Kaiser Colosseum!" Sephiroth stated, and a massive Roman-style colosseum appeared, surrounding the battle field and those who were watching at the closest distance. "As long as this card remains on the field, you can't summon any more monsters than I have on my side of the field. Which restricts us each to one. I'll play one more card face down, and end my turn."

"All right then. My move!" Rebecca called. "First off, I'll activate my Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards! Next, I summon my Fire Princess, in attack mode!"

A red-robed spellcaster holding a gnarled rod appeared on Rebecca's side of the field. (**ATK 1500**)

"Now, Fire Princess, incinerate his Spirit Reaper!"

A blast of flames engulfed the creature, but did not consume it. Sephiroth's Life Points didn't take a hit either. A group of blue-robed women stood before the reaper, and swiftly shattered.

"What?" Rebecca asked, completely confused.

"Oh, that's right, you never saw this card when we dueled, did you? My Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed in battle. And you should know that Waboku reduces any battle damage I take to zero. So sorry." Sephiroth answered, smirking.

"Ergh. Fine. I end my turn." Rebecca conceded.

"All right then. My move." Sephiroth stated. "I activate Hammer Shot! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field, and that would be your Fire Princess."

"No!" Rebecca cried out as a massive hammer fell from the sky, smushing and shattering her lone monster.

"Now I summon a card you will most definitely recognize, Miss Hawkins. My Yata-Garasu!" Sephiroth called, causing a raven-black bird to appear on his side of the field (**ATK 200**)

"Oh no. Not that card!" Rebecca shouted, worry appearing on her face.

"Yes. That card. When my Yata-Garasu attacks you directly, it prevents you from drawing any new cards. In conjunction with my Spirit Reaper, which forces you to discard a card from your hand, your options will be getting very limited very shortly, Miss Hawkins." Sephiroth stated. "Go, my beasts! Attack her Life Points directly!"

Scythe and claw raked across Rebecca's duel disk, and Rebecca discarded one card from her hand.

**Rebecca LP: 3500**

"And, on top of that, my Yata-Garasu returns to my hand at the end of my turn, so you're still restricted to summoning one monster per turn. I'll lay one card face down, and end my turn." Sephiroth added. "Your move."

"Okay, Sephiroth. You might have limited my options a bit, but I still have my Graceful Charity card, which lets me draw three cards and discard two!" Rebecca stated, drawing her next cards.

_Yes!_ she cheered mentally. _My Adamantine Sword Revival card! Now… let's discard my Luster Dragon and my Cure Mermaid. Now let's try this on for size!_

"I activate my magic card Silent Doom! This lets me summon a monster in face-up defense position from my graveyard, as long as it's a normal monster!" Rebecca called out.

"Activate trap! Magic Drain! This card forces you to discard one magic card from your hand in order to keep your card's effect active. If you can't discard a magic card, your Silent Doom gets destroyed!" Sephiroth explained.

Rebecca grumbled, showing Sephiroth her Tribute to the Doomed magic card. "I was hoping I could kill your Spirit Reaper with this and leave your Life Points wide open, but no such luck. But now, my Luster Dragon comes to the field! But he won't stay long, because I now get to activate my Adamantine Sword Revival! This card can only be activated when a Dragon monster is Special Summoned from the graveyard. By sacrificing the revived monster, I get to summon my Diamond Head Dragon in attack mode! Since my Luster Dragon had 1900 attack points, my Diamond Head Dragon has 2900! Fortunately for you, he can't attack this turn."

"Not that it matters anyway." Sephiroth sneered. "Reveal trap! Raigeki Break! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy your Diamond Head Dragon!"

Rebecca made a noise somewhere between a cry and a gulp and her monster shattered into bits. She quickly recovered and countered, "So what? You only have one card in your hand now! It's your move. And there's not gonna be much you can do!"

"Oh yes there is." Sephiroth replied, smirking. "I return to the field my Yata-Garasu, and then activate the last card in my hand- Cold Wave. This card means until my next turn, neither of us can set or activate any magic or trap cards. Which means you're pretty well defenseless. Go, Spirit Reaper and Yata-Garasu! Attack her Life Points directly again!"

Rebecca tooks the hits from the monsters, and reluctantly discarded her Dragon's Rage card. Now she had only one card left.

**Rebecca LP: 3000**

"Yata-Garasu returns to my hand, and it's your move, Miss Hawkins. Let's see what you can do with only one option left in your hand." Sephiroth stated.

"Guys, dis ain't looking so good." Joey stated.

"You're certainly right on that one, Joey. Rebecca can't play any magic cards she might have had to defend against Sephiroth's powerful lock down combination, and even if she summons a monster, he'll likely just find some new way to destroy it…" Bakura noted.

"But that doesn't mean she's going to lose!" Serenity cut in determinedly. "She beat him before, and she can beat him again! You can do it, Rebecca!"

Rebecca smiled, encouraged by her friends to fight on. "All right, Becky, you can turn this thing around… Sephiroth! This duel isn't over yet! I summon my Ruby Dragon in attack mode! And I'll use him to attack your Spirit Reaper! It might not be destroyed, but I'm taking out some of your Life Points!"

The red dragon (**ATK 1600**) rushed for Sephiroth's Spirit Reaper, clawing it, but unable to destroy it.

**Sephiroth LP: 2700**

"Since you can't do anything else, it's my move!" Sephiroth stated, drawing his next card. "I have my own Pot of Greed as well. You should know what that does. And now- this duel is as good as done. I use the magic of Monster Reborn to revive your Luster Dragon! And I'll place one card face down. Now, Luster Dragon and Spirit Reaper! Attack her monster and her Life Points!"

Luster Dragon's sparkling flames destroyed Ruby Dragon, and Spirit Reaper's scythe hit into Rebecca's Life Points.

**Rebecca LP: 2400**

"You should be thanking me." Sephiroth noted. "I've let you have one last chance to save yourself before I wipe you out. So. Play your last card. Let's see if you can duel your way out of this."

Rebecca cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you doing the exact same thing that let me come back and beat you last time? Well, whatever. It's your own fault if your arrogance ends this duel in my favor again. I draw-!"

"No you don't." Sephiroth cut in. "Reveal trap card! Drop Off! This requires me to discard my Yata-Garasu, but it prevents you from drawing any new cards. I learn from my mistakes, Miss Hawkins. I'm not giving you a second chance to pull yourself out of this."

Rebecca swore under her breath. "Fine. Your move."

"All right then. I activate Card of Demise! This lets me draw five cards from my deck, but if I don't use them all at the end of five turns, I lose them. However, I don't think I'll even be using them for that long. I sacrifice my Spirit Reaper in order to summon Mobius, the Frost Monarch!"

Spirit Reaper shattered to reveal a pale blue-green skinned man clad in white garb. (**ATK 2400**)

"Ordinarily, this card would let me destroy two spell or trap cards, but in this case, it really doesn't matter. Now, go, Mobus, the Frost Monarch! Wipe out the rest of Miss Hawkins' Life Points with your White Winter Blast!" Sephiroth commanded.

The Monarch raised his hands, summoning a massive white ball of snow, which he sent flying directly towards Rebecca's Life Points. She drew her arms in around herself, shivering as though she was freezing as her Life Points dropped to zero.

"Whoa!" Tristan shouted. "I don't believe it! Rebecca lost!"

"Rebecca!" Yugi cried out, concerned.

"I'm fine, Yugi…" Rebecca replied, still shivering a bit. She ran to his side, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, her facial expression practically begging for a hug.

Yugi put his arms comfortingly around her. "It's okay, Rebecca. Really. You don't need to be sad."

"I'm not sad, I'm mad!" Rebecca retorted. "I just lost to someone I beat in the national finals on worldwide television! I'm so humiliated!"

"How do you think I felt?" Sephiroth asked, approaching his opponent. "I lost to a girl several years my inferior on national television. You want to talk about humiliation, that was both humiliating and emasculating. If I gave a damn about the opinions of others, I'd have been harassed by thousands of people for quite some time."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting a man who seemed so arrogant mere moments before to seem almost- sympathetic.

"Yeah, he has a point." Joey admitted. "Beck, you beat him on national TV. He basically got beat up by a girl in front of millions of people. Dat's pretty rough."

"And what're you saying, that girls can't be good duelists too? Huh?" Rebecca shouted, turning towards Joey.

"No, no, not dat!" Joey replied, waving his arms defensively. "I'm not sayin' women aren't awesome duelists. I mean, check out Mai! I'm just sayin' dat a lotta people would see dat as humiliatin'."

"At any rate, I'm sorry you feel humiliated. But I wasn't about to hold back because you're a woman. That would be an insult to you as a duelist. I did what any duelist of a certain caliber would've done, and used my best cards at the most opportune moments. I just happened to get a lot of my best cards near the start of the game. Had the deck been shuffled differently, the outcome might have been completely different." Sephiroth cut in, looking back at Rebecca, holding his hand out for a handshake.

"Right!" Rebecca replied, a smile coming onto her face. She took Sephiroth's hand firmly, and said, "Next time we meet, though, you're going down!"

Sephiroth ended the handshake, and shrugged. "If that's the way the cards fall. I'd stay to chat longer, but I have someone I need to speak with. Yugi, I'm looking forward to seeing you in the finals. We'll have more time to speak with one another then."

And he breezed right through the group, walking towards an unknown contact.

Rebecca shuddered as Sephiroth's hair accidentally brushed against her skin.

"What is it, Rebecca?" Yugi wondered.

"I don't know, Yugi…" Rebecca answered, sounding really worried and confused. "Something seems different about him. I mean, he was acting the same as last time- only he was much more… I don't know… Cold. More arrogant, too… I just hope nothing's wrong."

Yugi felt a chill of foreboding roll down his spine at Rebecca's words. "Yeah, Rebecca. Me too…"

._.

"Ah, Sephiroth, coming to pay me a visit, are you?" Rufus asked, his blue eyes strangely illuminated by the computer screen. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't be there for our little meeting, seeing as how I have a rather urgent meeting of my own with the Turks to arrange the destruction of the lab of one Professor Arthur Hawkins. We can't have all those Shin-Ra secrets spilling for all the world to see, now can we?"

He snapped shut his laptop as Kaiba and Pegasus entered the room. "And what is it that you two want?"

"Well, it seems clear to me that you have some big plan in the works." Pegasus stated in his usual lilting voice.

"A big plan with a big payoff. And we want in." Kaiba finished. "I wanna know what's going through that slimy head of yours, and what exactly it is you're trying to accomplish here. You have a lot of people here in this tournament that, from what I saw, are either being watched by Shin-Ra, or are on Shin-Ra payroll. What I want to know is what purpose they serve."

"I'm afraid I can't share that information with you." Rufus replied, turning his back to the two other CEOs. "It's highly classified, reserved only for the eyes of the Shin-Ra board of directors."

"Then how about a merger?" Kaiba asked. "Were our companies combined, we could learn the information you're trying to hide from us, correct?"

"Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus interrupted. "Are you certain you want to go through with this? I thought you'd rather see your company run to the ground before it fell into someone else's hands!"

Kaiba's lips hardened into a single line. "It might be the only way our companies survive this. I just ran the calculations again, and at the rate these duels are occurring, there won't be enough time to raise enough revenue to even reach the break-even point for holding this tournament."

Rufus smirked lightly. "What say you to a little wager? After the tournament's done, we can settle this in a manner you're accustomed to. We can duel over this. If you two win, I will give you enough money to keep your companies from falling apart. And if I win, all three of our companies merge, and you will have all the access to Shin-Ra secrets and stocks you care to have."

"That's quite an impressive gamble, Rufus-boy." Pegasus noted. "What if the money you use fronting us drives you into bankruptcy?"

"I highly doubt that." Rufus responded. "And, also, even if my company did get in trouble, the US government owes me too much to let me fall. I would get bailed out."

Kaiba looked to be considering the matter heavily. After a long moment, he replied, "All right. It's a wager."

._.

Next time: Yugi and friends meet up with a kind young woman named Aerith, and Tristan gets dragged into his first duel of the tournament! As the first day of competition comes to an end, will Tristan prove himself worthy of a slot in a worldwide tournament's finals? Or will this new opponent prove too strong to face?


End file.
